Big Time Adventure
by whitefire33
Summary: Amber Riordan is an upcoming star working with Rocque Records, and of course with Gustavo as her producer things are hectic, but add the boys of BTR, and things get crazier than Amber could've ever imagined...what will happen? read to find out! chp10!
1. Big Time Start

Hi guys, i know this is different from what i usually write about but an author named ArianamaslowBTR25 got me reading her BTR stories and i decided to make one of my own, i mean i had this idea i made a month back when i found about the famous ONE DIRECTION, and so i got back into BTR and i came up with this :) so i hope you enjoy here's my latest story ( and don't worry i'll be working on my other stories this week )

o and just to warn you, i'll only continue this story if i turns out that people are 1) reading it and 2) review and like my story and give me reviews critiquing things on what need fixing or just saying they enjoy the story's good too

NOW...ENJOY!

Big Time Rush - Chapter 1: Big Time Start

Today's the day; today's the day when my life changes. The steps that are necessary to go through to be the best I can be, the training wheels I'll have to wear until I can balance myself. I didn't sleep a wink last night; I was on a serious adrenaline rush. But, at eight o'clock in the morning, I'm still bouncing off the walls. Now, if only I knew where my packing list was, then I could get this journey underway.

My packing list was my life; it had everything I knew I was going to need for this program. Project Star-catcher. Project Star-catcher is the best program for people, like me, with big dreams who want to make it in what people call "The Big Leagues". They have professional directors, producers, agents, along with coaches and choreographers from far and wide who teach us "dreamers" to grab hold of those dreams and make it our reality. Well, that's what it says on the pamphlet I got at the informational meeting.

I worked my butt off to get on this trip. I mean I'm seventeen, finally graduated from high school (my birthday's October 28th), and I managed to keep up my grades all through high school. I mean, it shows since in the fall I'm going to Yale. Yes, I did say Yale. Their drama program is amazing, and although I'm more of a musician, I do like being apart of Drama Club at school. I want to be able to branch out to different areas in the Arts, and other programs like English, which is what I'm majoring in; my minor is drama and music.

Ah ha! I found my packing list, finally! Now, first thing, clothes, got those packed, two, necessities, you know, girl things, check! Three, journal, check! Four, music sheets, check, keyboard, it's right there next to my luggage. Dance shoes, in the closet, I should probably get those out. I dug through my messy closet and found my dance shoes in the bag I bring with me to my dance classes on the weekends. I'm not a big dancer, I just go to a local studio on weekends to get some good exercise and have fun while doing it. I'm not like my friend Tess, who's coming with me on the trip, who's a HUGE dancer. She's going to Yale with me and becoming a Dance major.

She was up with me last night until around five when she finally crashed, or so I think since she stopped replying to my text messages, freaking out over our amazing summer right around the corner. Although our journey doesn't start around the corner; you see we live in Boston, Massachusetts and we're meeting everyone in New York at JFK airport. So we have to do a little driving before then. And we're supposed to leave in…FIVE MINUTES! Uh oh.

I quickly gathered everything I knew I needed and packed it messily into my bag (I am going to regret that later), and almost threw everything down the stairs so that I was ready. After putting my bags by the front door, I trudged back up the stairs, brushed my teeth, put on some simple makeup, and then grabbed my lucky Fedora and headed out the door.

"Honey," my dad said to me. I gave him a questioning look. "Aren't you forgetting something…?" He said looking at the ground. I looked at the ground and saw I wasn't wearing shoes.

"Sorry dad, be right back." I said sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck.

"Hurry up, we have to pick up your friend Tess and get on the highway before we get stuck behind traffic." My dad said as he looked at the time.

"Okay, okay, calm down you worry wart." I chided.

"I'm not a worry wart…" My dad grumbled.

"Sure dad." I said as I turned around laughing. I went back upstairs and threw on a pair of Toms to complete my outfit. I ran down the stairs almost tripping and sprang through the door only to have a familiar voice call back to me.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to your poor mother?" Said my mother. I turned around and put my hands on my hips and shook my head with a smile on my face.

"I knew I was forgetting something…" I said jokingly and I ran to the front door where my mom was hugging herself and as I jogged over she opened her arms up wide for me and I tackled her into a hug.

"Aw sweetie I'm going to miss you so much." She said almost sounding like she was going to cry. Oh no, if she cries, I know for sure I'm going to ball, and I thought I was getting so much better at that.

"I'll only be gone for seven weeks mom. I've done it before with camp, remember?" I tried reassuring her and shaking off my sadness.

"I know, but I thought once you reached High School we weren't going to have to do this again, and then you're going off to college right after." My mom complained.

"Not immediately, we still get to have our little vacation after in LA, and by then I'll know the place so well I'll be your personal tour guide." I said as I remembered how much fun it's going to be showing my family around the place that I'm going to be calling home for the next few weeks.

"Of course you will." My mom said hugging me tighter.

"Uh, mom…" I struggled saying.

"Yes sweet pea?"

"Losing oxygen." I said trying desperately to find some air.

"Oh!" My mom said getting my drift and letting go. "Sorry, I'll let you go now." She said holding me at arms length. I was going to walk over to my impatient father when more voices interrupted us.

"Wait for us sissy!" A young girl's voice called.

"You can't leave yet!" A slightly older but still childish voice called.

"Aw, Jordyn, Dillon." I said as I saw my cute little siblings round the corner of the hallway leading to the front door. They were still in their little pjs.

"When are we going to see you again?" Dillon asked, he almost sounded really upset, I thought he'd be happy to see me gone; we don't always get along.

"Well I'm bringing my computer, so I'll make sure to video chat with mommy and daddy as soon as I get to, and then I'll talk to you guys then, how's that sound?"

"Not good enough!" Jordyn, who's six, whined.

"Aw, I'm going to miss you guys." I said wrapping my arms around their necks and giving them hugs and kisses. Jordyn loved the attention while Dillon was trying to shake away from me. Typical him.

"Come on Amber. Time to head off."

"I love you guys! See you soon!"

"Bye!" My family, not including my dad, called back in unison. I hiked my shoulder back higher up on my shoulder and crawled into the front seat of the car. My dad took the wheel and we were slowly off and before I knew it I couldn't see my house anymore.

We quickly drove up to Tess' house. She said goodbye to her parents after they helped her loading up her three, count 'em, THREE, huge suitcases. What was she brining? Knowing her, probably her whole walk in closet. I got out of the car and went around the car to help close the trunk. Once that was done and Tess' parents were inside, the two of us squealed and hugged each other.

"Ready for the summer of our lives?" Tess asked obviously knowing the answer but I gave one to her anyway.

"More ready than I've been for anything." I answered super excited.

"Me too!" Tess basically yelled as her dark chocolate eyes were sparkling with the reflection of her yellow shirt on. We squealed again and did our famous handshake. (Go to Youtube and type in "Tight Handshake")

"Come on girls let's get a move on." My dad called from the window. So we hopped in the back of the car and started our journey…well our first journey to the airport.

Exactly four hours later, we were sitting in the airport in a circle with the rest of the anxious teens who were coming along on Tess' and my amazing journey. Everyone looked reasonably nice. Some guys were even cute, but I didn't care much for that since I had a boyfriend. Lukas and I said our goodbyes to each other yesterday because we were each doing our own thing this summer, he was going to Lacrosse camp and I was on Project Star-catcher.

To keep myself entertained, I kept conversation up with Tess as we talked about how excited we were for our classes that we'll be taking. Everyone was given options. I was going to take voice lessons, piano lessons, and some acting courses. Tess was doing acting and voice lessons with me, but instead of piano lessons, she doing choreography. Once Tess brought up her hip hop classes, a guy who was sitting next to Tess piped up and said,

"You're doing a dance class too? Oh thank goodness, I thought I was the only one. No one else seems to be doing it."

"Really? That's cool, we'll run this place with our awesome dance moves." Tess said casually earning a laugh from the boy. I loved how comfortable she was with talking with someone she doesn't know. "By the way, I'm Tess Rogers. This here is my best friend Amber."

"Nice to meet you guys, I'm Nick, Nick Braun. What type of dancing are you doing?"

"I'm taking hip hop and some tap, and maybe I'll chose some others as well since those were only for a portion of the trip. What about you?"

"Oh, well I'm taking contemporary and ballet."

"Ballet? Nice. Well, my fellow dancer, you're going to have to teach me some new moves."

"Alright, as long as you do the same. Hey uh, Amber, right, good, what about you?"

"Well I'm not a dancer, I mean I do dance but not for a living like you two do, I'm more of a singer/pianist type girl." I said.

"That's cool." And that's how our friendship with Nick started. He was the sweetest guy. And he was incredibly funny, he had the two of us holding our sides in pain from our laughter.

"Well I'm glad that everyone's making nice with each other." Said an older person's voice. And when I said older I didn't mean like a real adult, I meant like a guy who was in his mid twenties who was talking that broke through the chatter. "On our last trip we have people ripping each other apart."

"…"

"I'm kidding…God, I'm going to teach you guys to get a sense of humor." We all managed to chuckle at this. "Anyway, I'm Adam and I will be one of your mentors on our trip. I'll be teaching art, photography, and music. Welcome to the beginning of the best summer of your young little lives."

Everyone cheered at the sound of that. All the other teachers/mentors whatever they were exactly to us introduced themselves as well. Overall there were seven mentors on the trip. And there were about fifty of us. That should be interesting to see how they're going to manage that many kids. The mentors told us to get up and gather our things and get on line to get checked in, the airport I guess knew what to expect so they made us our own separate lines from everyone else at the airport. Once everyone was checked in and baggage was taken from us, besides our carry on luggage, we were set to move on.

Security was annoying to go through with fifty teens and seven adults, but we managed to pull it off. We got to our gate, we all made pit stops before boarding and we were all assigned seats, and thankfully it was alphabetical. That's the best thing about having a best friend with the same letter last name as you. So Tess Rogers and I, Amber Riordan, were sat next to each other. Unfortunately our new friend Nick wasn't near us, his last name we learned was Braun, he was SO far from us.

But eventually once the plane took off, we learned that no matter how far away he was from us it didn't matter, we were smart and we pulled out our computers and we video chatted with Nick from his seat; thank you technology. It was quite funny really since we could sort of hear Nick's laughter before it really got to our headphones. From our long conversations with Nick between our naps, we met the people who were sitting next to him.

There was a boy and a girl on either side of Nick. The boy's name was Austin Manx, he was from Houston, Texas; which of course Tess made fun of because we thought he'd be from _Austin,_ Texas…unfortunately he'd heard that before, but besides that little awkward introduction, we managed to befriend Austin easily. And you're probably wondering why someone with the last name B and someone else with the last name M got next to each other, apparently Austin switched seats with whatever person was there before since Austin and Nick knew each other.

The girl was Caroline Abrams. She was originally from New York; lucky her didn't have to travel very far from home to meet up with the group. She didn't live in the city, she lived in some suburb outside the city but it took her under an hour for her to get to JFK. Lucky her, I still had bruises on my butt from the uncomfortable leather seats in my dad's car. Since my dad's car was new it was very stiff, so the four-hour car ride was not without complaints.

Off topic, we got to know her, apparently she played the piano as well and so she was going to be in my class, hopefully, and that was good, I was a little nervous to go into the class blind, but now I have Caroline who seemed awfully nice. So I guess you can say our plane ride was tons of fun and the six-hour flight somehow flew by very quickly and we had to shut down our computers when the flight attendants yelled at us for not having them off after she asked us at least three times.

The fifty-seven of us got off the plane and moved quickly through the crowds of people getting off our plane and other planes that docked at the same time and got everyone's luggage, well except one unlucky girl from Florida who lost her luggage. How awful that must've been, but she was being a good sport about it. Luckily her friend was with her and she could share clothes with her.

After that little piece of drama (that was going to be the first step of a whole lot of the drama train) and we left LAX, we got on our tour bus and took a round trip of LA and saw all the sites. Truthfully, I've haven't been passed the Mississippi River. I was on it, but that doesn't count. So to see the West Coast was something that was so amazing I can't begin to describe how I felt when I saw the sites. This was my kind of place, I almost started crying and I was made fun of by Tess, who unlike me travels all the time. As sappy as it seems, I felt like I was being handed something I've been missing and I felt almost complete.

We got to our hotel; we were staying at the Double Tree Hotel in Santa Montica. That was going to be our base of operations where we were have our classrooms, which were just offices for clients and conventions that come to the hotel. But when we got there, apparently there were people from LA who were on our trip who we were going to meet us there. There were about five other kids that were waiting around, two boys and three girls. The boys were together, far from where the girls were standing. The three girls were all on their phones, sunglasses on, and all ignoring the fact that the rest of us arrived. I knew from the moment I saw them they were going to be very irritating people.

So when we arrived at the hotel, it was around five o'clock. So the counselors or whatever not knowing exactly what to do (we were supposed to get here earlier but we got delayed) so we all ordered take out from a Chinese place and went into a ballroom that the head leaders booked for us ahead of time. Yeah, that's what they are, the head leaders of our little pack.

The head leaders apparently already booked the ballroom ahead of time, since it was the first night, we were to spend the night all together, although obviously boys are to sleep on one side of the room while the girls sleep on the opposite side. They even drew up a line with blue tape to divide the room. But before then we just had fun dancing and blasting music. The theme was to show off your talent, so there were mike stands, instruments, and an area for dancing.

Of course Tess and Nick dominated the floor with their awesome moves, mostly Tess since she was the party rocker type of girl while Nick was trying to do his ballet stuff and just gave up and did was Tess was doing. I was just chilling near them cheering them on, not really in the mood to show off my talent, I'm not the girl to make the first move or be blunt and super out there. Apparently thought the three girls from before were just those kinds of girls. They cut the music and went on the little stage set up and grabbed the mikes off their stands and started jamming out to a CD that one of the girls put in the stereo.

I was shocked that they were actually quite good, I mean maybe that's why they acted so high and mighty and almost like they were above everyone, because they probably knew that they were. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable, making me doubt if I had anything I could pursue a career with. I mean these girls had what it took to reach incredible heights I've only ever dreamed of; and the worst part was, they made it look so easy.

Not in a dancing mood anymore, I got to the snack table where there was some yummy desserts and some left over Chinese food, I guess you can say I was more drawn to the desserts than the cold chicken left over. So I sat down and nibbled on a small cupcake.

Unfortunately my solitude wasn't able to last when Nick and Tess waltzed on over to where I was.

"Hey, we've been looking all over for you. What's up?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, you're not usually the one to be sitting out eating, you're a dancer, although you say you don't." Tess asked a little concerned, since she's known me the longest, it's harder to hide things from her. When I didn't answer, all of a sudden Nick light up, like a little light bulb went off in his brain that just illuminated his face.

"HEY!" Nick exclaimed all of a sudden.

"What?" Tess asked over the blasting of the latest beat.

"I've got the perfect plan! Sit tight angel." Nick says as he takes Tess' wrist and drags her off somewhere. Wherever they were going, I had no clue. But I soon found out and I was ready to throttle our new friend for opening that big dimply mouth of his.

"Alright, alright, we have a request. And that request is for a certain girl by the name of Amber Riordan to come up on stage and sing for us!" everyone scanned for the room and said girl (ME) and when they found me trying to hide myself with a potato chip bag covering my face they cheered me on. Tess and Nick were soon by my side again, Tess handing me a mike as Nick was pushing me from behind, although I tried digging the heels of my boots into the floor to stop him, but GOD was he stronger than he looked; stupid ballerina boy.

So they managed to get me on stage and a familiar tune that I knew awfully too well came blasting through the speakers behind me. I looked to the side lines where Nick and Tess were standing and Tess mouthed something to me but I couldn't tell, I've never been great at reading people's mouths but before I could even stop myself, I found myself getting caught up in the memories of first singing this sing, it's the first song I ever sang to Lukas.

I just want you close

Where you can stay forever

You can be sure

That it will only get better

You and me together

Through the days and nights

I don't worry 'cause

Everything's going to be al right

People keep talking they can say what they like

But all I know is everything's going to be alright

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you

Can get in the way of what I feel for you

When the rain is pouring down

And my heart is hurting

You will always be around

This I know for certain

You and me together

Through the days and nights

I don't worry 'cause

Everything's going to be all right

People keep talking they can say what they like

But all I know is everything's going to be alright

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel for you, you, you

Can get in the way of what I feel

I know some people search the world

To find something like what we have

I know people will try, try to divide, something so real

So till the end of time I'm telling you there ain't no one

No one, no one

Can get in the way of what I'm feeling

No one, no one, no one

Can get in the way of what I feel for you

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

I can't even recall what happened on stage until the song was over and the roar of the crowd awoken me from my haze. Whenever I'm on stage, I just lose myself in the music, and forget everything around me, and when I sang this song, this song I sang to Lukas, I went back to that exact moment when I was sitting in his basement and I was singing for him and he was the first one to really make me special and say I was talented.

I was the proceeded to be tackled in huge hugs from Nick and Tess and even Austin and Caroline from the plane came on stage and everyone was talking to me at once and it was really overwhelming but they said nothing but nice things to me. I knew then that all my new friends were going to be keepers. From that instance, I felt the same way I felt when Lukas was complimenting me, that warm fuzzy feeling in your stomach that comes out of nowhere and spreads throughout you and gives you goose bumps although you're burning up inside with appreciation.

We eventually sat down and I meet some new people who came up to me and said they can't wait to see me in their class and stuff. After a while, the head leaders went to clean up the garbage left behind by us and throw everything away. They said they'd be back in a half hour, and kids just being kids, we decided to all get in a circle, and a very huge circle at that and play truth or dare. It was funny and confusing and quite hard to keep track of where the bottle was going to land and who exactly it was pointing to and sometimes even two or three people went and did the same thing at once.

Everything was going great until one girl, one of the three girls from earlier (the three girls were all named Natalie), spun the bottle and it laid pointing directly at me; and there was no mistaking that. Everyone had different reactions, but I concealed how I was really feeling.

"Alright, Amber, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." I said rather confidently. She thought about it for a bit but couldn't come up with anything so she asked for suggestions. Another Natalie, the one I call Natalie 1 since she seems to be the leader of the trio, got a smirk on her face and pulled out something from her purse that never left her side; a purse she even held on stage with her.

From her purse came a magazine. She threw the magazine my way and it skidded on the floor and landed right in front of me. I took the magazine in my hand. It was a Pop Tiger magazine. It had the typical pop stars on the cover and announcements like "Where's Cyrus?" or "Selena and Justin pictures in Hawaii".

"Turn to page thirteen." Said the girl who tossed the magazine at me. I did as Natalie 1 instructed and Tess and Nick who were on either side of me stared at the advertisement on the page labeled thirteen.

"A contest?" I asked rather confused with what this had to do with anything.

"Yes. It's a contest to meet the band, and I really want to meet them and their contest consists of a phone call and a letter that has to be sent to them and then you get chosen. Of course I cannot enter, my daddy owns the company, but if you enter and win, then I can meet them. Simple enough?"

"So, you just want me to enter…that's it?"

"That's it. So I already wrote the letter and sent it. All you have to do is pretend to be an obsessed fan and get them to make you the winner."

"But, I don't know who…Big Time Rush, is." I said reading their name off the magazine advertisement. "How am I supposed to be 'an obsessed fan' if I know nothing about them?"

"Easy. You're a good actor, right? I mean on the assignment sheet you were signed up for an acting session. So, let's see how good you are. Or do you want to be forever known as the girl who couldn't do a simple task like this?"

Everyone made a commotion at that remark. I looked rather annoyed and I couldn't even hide that this time. I dug through my shorts' pocket and pulled out my IPhone and I dialed the number on the page. Everyone fell silent when they could hear the ringing when I put the phone on speaker.

"Hello you have reached Pop Tiger number for the Big Time Rush Meet Contest! Who's today's lucky caller?" Said a voice at the other end of the line. I took a breath before answering.

"OH. MY. GOSH! Is this seriously Pop Tiger? OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! I cannot believe I got through. I've been trying for an hour to get connected. You are like SO majorly busy." I said in the most hysterical voice I could conjure up.

"Whoa someone's excited! What's your name?" The man asked.

"MY NAME'S NATALIE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I said looking over at Natalie and she smiled at me, approving.

"Well, let's see," The man took a slight pause and started going through what sounded like paper in the background crinkling. "Ah! Natalie, I found the letter that you sent in! Wow you seem to be a Big Time Fan!"

"OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I LOVE ALL OF THE BIG TIME RUSH BOYS! They're so awesome and handsome and inspirational and hot and if I could get the chance to meet them, (GASP) I'D FLIP!" I screamed.

"Now I've heard that from a few other girls, but you seem to be really a huge fan." The man commented while giving away a chuckle.

"OMG YES, YES, YES!" I scream. People around me are trying to quiet their giggles.

"Is there someone else there with you Natalie?" The man asked with curiosity lingering in his tone.

"Oh, that's just the sounds of my friends laughing at how CRAZY I am for Big Time Rush! THEY unfortunately, don't have don't understand why Big Time Rush is a Big Time HIT!"

"And you're willing to not go with what your friends think and believe in who you think is good or not?"

"OF COURSE! AND, AND, I know for a FACT that I'm right when I say Big Time Rush are going to take over the air waves!"

"Well boys," The man on the phone says to someone else where he is. "I think we just found a finalist!"

"Really?" I said breaking character a bit. I was shocked I was being that convincing. On the inside I was barfing to myself, acting this way was so unnatural to me.

"Are you that surprised? I mean you're SO enthusiastic." He said laughing.

"I mean, I'M JUST SO HAPPY I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" I said going with the flow once again.

"OKAY NATALIE!" Said the man on the other side of the phone. "We'll call you back later, we'll save your number and me and my gang here at Rocque Records will make our decision and you'll hear from us about what happens next."

"OKAY THANKS BYE!" I cheered happily.

"All right b-" But he didn't finish because I hung up on him. once the phone call ended, the crowd watching my little performance hollered and cheered on my act.

"Wow," came a voice that rose above the cheering. With that single word, the crowd started to die down and all eyes fell on the Lead Natalie. "I'm impressed. Nice work there. Now I'm one step closer to my ultimate goal."

"It's your ultimate goal to meet these guys?" I said pointing to the photo on the magazine.

"Yes, yes it is!" Natalie 1 said cheerfully as she and her friends laughed cheerfully along with their leader. I shrugged off their little 'laughing bit', thinking it was just something they did and the game carried on just as usual. Then the head leaders came back in the room and said it was time for lights out. The girls went to their side of the room while the guys went to their side. So we were just split up by the tape, so Tess, Caroline and I made a plan with Nick and Austin to play around with the rule a bit. So we gathered all our things by the edge of the tape and started talking nonchalantly like it was no big deal.

Apparently though it was a big trend because everyone copied our trick and the leaders couldn't do anything about it because we weren't breaking their rules. But then when they said it was time to go to sleep, that's when we had to obey, and that's what we did.

I had a hard time going to sleep that night though; I couldn't stop thinking about what this trip has awaiting for me. But boy was I in for a shock for what was going to happen next.


	2. Big Time, What?

Hey, so i know it's been four days i think since i've last posted and i'm sorry to keep you waiting, i had a little bit of writers block, i know this looks kind of long but it's because there's a lot of dialogue and then chunks when it's just paragraphs aka Amber's narration. now i hope you enjoy! R&R at the end!

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Big Time…What? (This is when everything starts to unfold and the "Natalie" girls pretend to be friends with Amber so that she can end up winning the competition for Natalie 1 but Natalie ends up tricking her and telling the contest hosts that Amber was Natalie and this is right before a huge show that Project Star-catcher puts on, so she gets stuck meeting the BTR boys she knows nothing a bout but becomes friends with and ends up escaping the clutches of the music room to make it to the show on time; songs Paparazzi on piano and Listen by Charice. Right before Big Time Demos) ft. Paparazzi and Listen<p>

Six whole weeks have flown by like any other summer vacation. But even though it's flown by, I can recall everything that has happened everyday in the past six weeks. I've had the best time, more fun than I've had in a really long while. My piano class, taught by Adam, is the coolest class. I've really developed my skills on the piano, I mean it's not like I had many skills involving the piano before, but I almost fee like a master now.

Adam, by far, is my favorite leader on this trip. He's totally relaxed and has taught me some amazing songs on the piano. And since I'm also in vocals, he helps me out with my voice and even helps me write some lines down for some songs I've always wanted to write. He really knows how to understand what a person is feeling and somehow uses that "secret power", I sometimes nickname it, and put it in words and then into catchy lyrics. And luckily for my friends and I he's from LA and so whenever we have a free time together, he always is the one we go to so he can show us all the coolest spots in town, or whatever beaches are near by.

Our choreographer leader on the trip, Veronica, is also been an awesome person to get to know. Although I don't have her as a teacher since I didn't sign up for dance, Tess and Nick are always in the studio and so I stop by every so often and so I've gotten to know Veronica. She can be a little up tight about some certain things; for example, she has no tolerance for laziness of if you say you're lazy, you're a dead man, or woman, or whatever. But other than that, you keep the "L word" out of your vocabulary, then you get to know how awesome and totally fun person she can be.

And all the talent that each person brought with them on our trip once again blew me away. I met so many incredible people on this trip. There's obviously Tess and Nick, Austin is Nick's friend who's an amazing drummer, Caroline who has magic coming out of her fingertips when it comes to the piano, DJ ironically is the best mixer on the planet.

Then there's people I'm not as entirely close to but whom I have gotten to know rather well. There's Noah, Theiler, Stephanie, Alexis, Rosie, and Chris all are singers in my class with wide ranges that are like music to my soul. Denise, Carla, Monique, Vince, Cameron, Dash, and Rick are all dancers. And there's even this crazy amazing soon-to-be actress named Lauren who can play all the roles in a play if she could.

And then there are the people who are the all around talented people who have areas in all sorts of places. Some great examples of that are the Natalie's. From the beginning of the summer, they've done nothing but show off everything they've got, from what clothes they own, to what they can sing, dance, act, design, do pretty much anything with pizzazz. Although I was immediately thinking I was going to end up hating them of being extremely envious of them, they turned out to be all around nice people. I was shocked to say the least. I mean I'm not usually the one to judge first but when I first met them while doing that truth and dare game all those weeks ago, they just seemed like they were on top of everything. But they were completely different than I thought and I was happy to call them my friends.

And even with that silly dare I did WAY back then, I was still helping out the head Natalie, who I learned was Natalie Woods, with the contest that she wanted to win so VERY badly. So she said I had to give them my email so that they wouldn't know if was her that wanted to win the contest. Although I thought it would be weird and I didn't want to get emails from them, I agreed to use my email and whenever they sent me stuff to answer, I would then send them to Natalie to answer the questions for me, since I still don't know, or rather care that much as to who they are.

Other than that little time consuming moment of my days, I was having a typical fun-filled summer. Although it was quite stressful this week since yesterday, the head director of the program Mr. Sky, announced the Festival of Stars Competition. Yet another competition I was going to enter. But this time it was much bigger and more important than some band meet and greet. This was mega super duper important. This was my chance to get a single on iTunes.

The competition was going to show off everyone's new skills that they've been working on while on the program and whoever the winner was got a prize. If you were a singer, which is what I was, you would get a single. If you were a dancer, you got to work with the best dance choreographers money can buy, and etc.

I was practicing my song that I was going to perform on the piano as well as sing in the music room that was set up by the group in our hotel for probably the umpteenth time that day. The concert's tomorrow and I know I was ready but I wanted to get as much practice as I could. I wanted to win, probably just as bad as everyone else, but to think I could possibly get a chance at having a single on iTunes kind of blew my mind away. It was me and a couple of other people in the room, so I wasn't singing because I didn't want to give away what I was doing; you can never be too careful around here.

I was in a peaceful state of mind when all of a sudden the double doors to the music room were busted open and they made a large banging noise when both doors hit the walls behind them simultaneously. Following that was a girlish scream that rattled my eardrums and in between the screaming I could hear my name. So I looked up from my keyboard and saw the hysterical happy face of Natalie Woods barging her way through people towards where I was in the back of the room.

"O. M. Gosh! Amber! Amber!" Natalie started as she grabbed my wrists and was jumping up and down and all around and saying other things I couldn't understand.

"Okay, okay! Natalie, calm down!" I said holding her wrists now and getting her to stop jumping. "I can't understand what you're saying!" I said between laughs. Seeing her like this was a rare sight and I found it rather out of character and flat out funny.

"You won! You won! You won!" Natalie's friends, aka the other Natalie's, joined the conversation after they came bursting through the doors as well.

"What?" I said baffled as she started jumping up and down. "Where'd you hear that?"

"It's on Pop Tiger's website! Natalie Forester won! You did it! I'm going to meet Big Time Rush!" She screamed. I was so in shock that my acting and her answers got us this far. I couldn't help but giggle like an idiot and jump up and down up with her.

"Okay, okay!" I said trying to calm her down because she looked like we were disturbing other people, obviously. "So, what time is the meet and greet?"

"It's tomorrow afternoon!" Natalie said even more excited than before, although that seems almost impossible.

"Same day as the Festival of Stars?" I said nervous for how all that timing was going to work out.

"I know it's pushing it, but the meet and greet doesn't last long, maybe an hour or two tops. So we'll go to the studio, you'll drop me off and pick me back up and we'll make it back in time for the show!"

"Are you sure this will work?" I said trying to be the reasonable one since I knew Natalie's mind was probably far gone now wrapped up in her little imaginations of what would happen tomorrow.

"Totally! Just leave everything to me! Now come on, I need YOU and the girls to help me pick out my outfit!" Natalie and her friends start pulling me away from my keyboard and out of the room with many weird faces staring back at us.

I don't even know how long it took yesterday until Natalie was finally able to pick an outfit out at the mall to wear today when she was going to meet the people she almost idolized to a point where some people would say it was creepy. We returned home right as the mall was closing and I fell to sleep and slept like that until 10 o'clock, like a rock. I was exhausted and when I woke up to the ringing of my phone blazing with a Big Time Rush song that I knew meant Natalie was calling, since she was the one who programmed the song to my phone to know whenever she was calling me.

I picked up the phone and I just heard her yelling in my ear. Least to say, I was definitely awake now, and I knew I was going to have a big bruise on my butt from when I fell out of bed when she startled me. She told me to meet me in her room ASAP. So I got out of bed, threw on some shorts, a tank, and some sandals since it looked nice out and went up to Natalie's room.

I didn't even have to knock on the door when Natalie grabbed me by my tank top and pulled me into her room.

"Here!" Natalie said throwing an outfit my way and then small heels that I managed to not get clobbered with.

"What's all this for?" I ask picking up the shoes that dropped to the floor behind me.

"It's the outfit you're wearing today. Now hurry up and change! Then I'll do your hair for you and make you look like a star!" Natalie said.

"But why do I-"

"Oh come on, no dilly dallying, move your butt to the bathroom and change!" she said pushing me from behind and slamming the door on my face. Well I couldn't argue with the door, so I just did as she instructed and got dressed in the outfit she gave me. I looked in the mirror and took my dirty blonde hair out of the bun I messily tied it up in and let my hair looks and it fell to my shoulders. I had to admit, there's a reason why Natalie is always the go-to-girl for fashion advise.

"So tell me again why I'm getting dressed up?" I ask as I continued to look at myself in the mirror, almost not recognizing myself. I was little over exposed with the outfit she gave me, I could see a good portion of my thighs.

"Because _I'm_ getting dressed up, silly. We both should look good, I mean it's thanks to you I can even go to this." Natalie said.

"Alright. Thank Natalie, this is really nice of you." I said walking out of the bathroom and signaling her that I was done. I even gave a little twirl in the nice shirt-short outfit she lent me with 2-inch heels outfit to see if she approved.

"No need to thank me, really." Natalie says bashfully almost as she's putting on lipstick in the mirror. She stops and takes me by my shoulders and sits me down on her bed as she starts curling my hair quickly and then combing it through so it looked more natural. "Besides, that outfit was meant for you to wear." She adds as she puts the curling iron back in its holder and moves on back to the mirror. I sit there a moment just staring at her in disbelief.

"But why shouldn't I?" I almost exclaim as I come up to her and look at her in the mirror. "This has been such a great day and you've been so much fun to get to know."

"Really?" Natalie says as she stops putting on makeup. She gets up from her bent over position over the counter and stands up straight and looks at me almost in disbelief. "Wow, Thank you." She said, but the way she said it was different than the way she's usually thanked me or anyone else. This one sounded the most sincere. "Now enough of this thank you business, let's go already!"

"Yeah! Let's hit the road! Wait, speaking of the road, how are we getting there...?" I asked rather confuse as we head out of her room where we were getting ready and into the elevator to get down stairs.

"Why in my car." She casually says.

"You had your car here the whole time?" I say rather shocked. She hasn't mentioned it once and has always gotten rides with other people who had their cars here.

"Oh no silly, I just had my driver bring it over so we could use it." She chides like that was no big deal.

"You a driver?" I say rather baffled.

"Everyone in LA practically does." She shrugged off as she continued to lead me down the long line of cars in the parking lot. I highly doubted that Adam had a driver of his own; he's much too down to earth for that. I was knocked out of my thoughts when I almost ran into Natalie who stooped in front of a nice white Porsche.

"Whoa, wait a second, THIS, is your car?" I say walking ahead of her and getting a look of the car from all angles. I can't help it with having a younger brother I fancy cars.

"Surprised much? You look like you're going to start drooling." She said pretending to wipe non-existent drool off my face.

"I might start to Oh my goodness...it's beautiful." I breathe out.

"Aw it's nothing much really, I've had it for over three months now and I'm ready to trade up. Now come on, get in, I don't want to keep them waiting." She says as she going around to get into her side of the car.

"Uh, right. Okay." I said as I put my hand on the door handle and open the door, oh my, it still had that new car smell. She looked like she hardly used it. I slid on the leather seats and it was amazing. So comfy and sleek and wow; now I have full reason to be envious. I absolutely love this car.

So we drove for about twenty minutes and even that was a breeze, even in spots where it was obviously meant to be bumpy it was smooth sailing.

We finally stopped outside a studio with a sign out front saying "Rocque Records" and the building was definitely intimidating, especially in height. There had to be at least forty floors!

"You ready or are you going to sit there all day?" Natalie pounded on my window. Apparently I was sitting there staring up longer than I thought. I opened the door and sheepishly smiled at her as an apology and we walked up to the front doors and we opened them up to get almost knocked into by security guards.

"Sorry girls, can't go through unless you're on the list." the beefier one of the two said. I was almost quaking in my shoes; he was MAD scary, and big enough to look like he could eat me whole.

"Oh don't bother we're on the list. Under Natalie Forester." Natalie said. How creative to go from woods to a forest.

"Okay, she's on the list, but only one of you is getting through here." The second security guard says taking a step forward, like he wasn't already making it clear that he was a big guy and was intimidating.

"Oh we know; I was just here to drop her off." Natalie said pushing me forward.

"Wait, what?" I say shaking my head out of its fear of the security guards and give Natalie a confused look, which she ignores easily.

"_This_ is Natalie Forester, Big Time Rush's biggest fan awaiting to meet her idols." She said pushing me forwards towards the guards.

"Uh, NO, I'm not!" I almost exclaim, as the guys were just about to reach for me I got some distance between them. "Natalie! What do you think you're doing?"

"Why are you talking about Nat? YOU won the contest didn't you?" She says smirking at me.

"No I didn't, I had nothing to do with this!" I reason almost yelling throwing my arms out.

"Oh but you DID, you were the one who got on the phone, you were the one who received the emails-"

"Which YOU answered." I interrupted her.

"Doesn't matter, it all leads back to you. Now I get to have my rise to the top in the Festival of Stars while you're stuck here! I'll be the one that everyone's talking about and NOT you!"

"Is that was this is all about?" I said in disbelief. She just crossed her arms and smirked at me. "I can't believe you did this! You were lying this whole time, about everything!"

"You bet I was. Now, have fun!" She says waving cheekily at me as she makes her way back to her car.

"No way you're leaving here without me." I say as I grab the hand she waved with and stop her in her tracks.

"Oh but I am. Oh boys!" The guards were behind me in seconds and lifted me off the ground when I tried breaking free.

"Hey! Let me go! Get back here Natalie!" I yell as I try kicking my legs but nothing happens as I'm brought into the building and put into an elevator where the guys put me down on the ground but still didn't give me room to break free. Once the door opened again, they took my arms and lifted me once again. We went down a narrow hallway that has posters of old bands that I remember listening to when I was little. Then we turn a corner and go in front of two glass doors that were opaque with the double R insignia of "Rocque Records" on it.

"Put, me, down!" I said struggling against their grasps on me.

"Whatever you say…" One guard says as they open the door and I do a duck and roll entrance and land with my head almost hitting the floor. As soon as I hit the floor, I immediately tried running for the door but the guards were already closing the doors behind me and before I could run through the little crack between the doors, they slammed shut and I slammed into the doors with a thud. I stumbled back and held my head in pain but then tried the door handle and it was locked.

"God what kind of meet and greet has people locked in a room?" I say aloud to no one in particular. I rub my head once again as it starts throbbing from the impact with the door.

"Apparently that's just how our producer works." Said a voice from behind me. I thought I was the only one in the room. I slowly turn around and see four guys, good looking guys I remember from the magazine, sitting in the back leaning against the walls just staring at me; they seemed amused by me.

"Well, how about you call up your producer, and tell them they got the WRONG GIRL and then get me back to my hotel."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'wrong girl'? Aren't you Natalie Forester?" One guy asked. He had a nice smile on before but now he looked confused. And I was confused by his appearance because he was wearing a hockey helmet on his head.

"There's no Natalie Forester!" I exclaim. They look at me a little scared. I take a deep breath and try again to explain. "Look, what I mean is, I'm not the girl who won, well I mean technically I did but I didn't win it for me."

"In English, maybe?" said a very confused or maybe just stressed out boy with long-ish brown hair. Damn was he pretty too.

"My friend, or who I thought was my friend, wanted to win a contest, and so I pretended to be the person she made up and went on the phone and talked to the magazine and then got the emails and sent them to my so called friend and we won and she was going to meet you guys but said I was her and now I'm here in front of you guys explaining my story." I say almost out of breath.

"Wait, so let me get this straight." Said a blonde haired boy. "You entered a contest for a friend so she could win and meet us but now you're here in her place?"

"Close enough." I say a little less than satisfied with that shorter explanation.

"But why are you here instead of her?" Asked the pretty one.

"Because apparently she wanted me to get stuck here so that she could go back to the hotel and be in the Festival of Stars and win the competition and get a single on iTunes." I said rather annoyed.

"Wait, what contest?" Asks the last boy who hasn't said anything yet. I sigh in frustration and blow some loose hair away from my face, I slip off my shoes, and plop myself down on the ground in front of them.

"I'm on a summer program called Project Star-catcher. It's a program for people, like me, who want to be famous and live their dreams. And on the program we take, well I wouldn't say they're classes but we do learn in them, well that's besides the point, we learn from the best choreographers, vocal coaches, directors, producers and etc. from LA and improve our talents.

"For example, I took vocal lessons and piano lessons. And so this is our sixth week in LA and they're hosting a competition to see who's learned the most and the winner of the competition, depending on your specialty, gets a prize. The prize if you're a singer, like me, is a single you co write with our songwriter team, and then record it and release it on iTunes."

"And, so this girl…" Pretty boy said.

"Natalie Woods." I say with some venom in my voice.

"Didn't want you to go to the competition." The hockey helmet boy said.

"Correct." I said.

"Because…?" Says the smart looking one, the one who wasn't talking.

"She's _crazy_!" I say falling on my back in frustration.

"So, that must mean you're really good then, right?" Questioned the blonde one.

"What?" I lift my head up confused by his question.

"Well, if she doesn't want you to be in the festival or whatever, that means she wants to eliminate the competition. So you're her competition." He reasons and the rest of the guys nod along with him.

"I am?" I say as I lean on my arms.

"Well, that's what it sounds like anyway." Said the smart looking one.

"I mean, I guess…maybe…" I say as I guess up and sit on my legs thinking to myself about what's happened over the past six weeks to even show any signs that she, Natalie Woods of all people, could possibly be jealous of me.

"So, let's hear it!" Says the pretty boy cheerfully.

"What?" I ask worried. Man I was sounding like a broken record.

"Let's hear what you've got to show off. I want to see why that girl doesn't want you in the show." Say the hockey helmet boy.

"Well, I should really save my voice…I mean I might still be able to make it there right before I have to go on." I say shyly.

"I highly doubt that." Said the smart one.

"Why not?" I asked, almost sounding hurt in my voice. This got him to stutter before answering when the pretty boy recovered.

"What time does it start?" He asked.

"Well I'm going on at 8:30." I say.

"Yeah, this meet and greet goes on until 9:30." The hockey helmet-wearing boy says to me.

"9:30? Natalie told me it was an hour, two hours tops, long." I said as I hug my knees to my chest.

"Why do you expect her to tell you the truth about that? She's obviously lying about everything else." Said the blonde haired one.

"I guess you're right." I say laying my chin between my knees as I look at the ground. "Wait…do you guys have your phones on you?"

"No, Gustavo, our producer, took our phones away from us before we got here, he said that our fan, well in this case you, deserved our full attention."

"Oh…" I say sort of sad.

"So…" the hockey helmet boy mused leaning forward as his fellow band mates followed suit.

"I'm still not singing." I say looking up at them and looking at each one individually.

"Ugh…" They all groan.

"You guys really want me to sing that badly?" I say rather shocked.

"Well what else do you suggest we do for the next five hours?" The smart one asks me.

"How about I learn your names." I suggest a bit sheepishly and honestly.

"Wait, you don't know who we are." Asked the pretty boy.

"Nope." I said popping the P. "I only know that you're Big Time Rush and that Natalie is obsessed with you."

"Well…alright, awkward. I'm Kendall Knight." Says the blonde one now Kendall.

"I'm James Diamond." Said the pretty boy.

"I'm Carlos Garcia." Said the one wearing the hockey helmet.

"And I'm Logan Mitchell." Said the smart one.

"And I'm Amber Riordan." I said waving my hand.

"Wait, Riordan…? As in, daughter of Rick Riordan, the famous author?" Asked Logan.

"Yup, that's my dad." I said feeling proud on the inside; it never gets old when I hear someone recognize my dad's last name. I feel honored when people have known my father.

"That's so cool!" Carlos says excitedly.

"Yeah, I love getting to read snip its of my dad's books before they're finished. Sometimes I even get a say in what should go into it or not." I say showing that I was proud.

"Do you inherit your father's writing talent?" James asked.

"Well, not in writing books or essays unfortunately, just in writing lyrics." I said casually.

"You write your own music?" Kendall asked.

"Yeah, but nothing really to marvel over."

"No, I bet it's good. So when are you going to be famous so we can hear it?"

"Oh I don't know. I mean it happens to one in a million people."

"Yeah, we know." They say laughing amongst themselves.

"Really? How'd you guys get started? I think Natalie probably told me once but I forget." I asked.

"Well, we're all from a small town in Minnesota and we used to play on our ice hockey team when one day we were at home and Mr. James Diamond here," Kendall says nudging James in the side as they all laugh. "Got all excited when he heard a commercial about a producer coming to our home town, looking for someone to become his next big hit." Kendall takes a break to let someone else continue with the tale to stardom.

"So we, wanting to support our friend, rush down to the local theatre to get James in line for an audition and we all end up auditioning but some, things, end up happening and the next thing we know we're escorted back to Kendall's house and we're there for a few minutes when the producer, Gustavo Rocque, knocks on the door." Logan said remembering it like it was yesterday.

"Now we thought he was here for me, because I'm amazingly talented and made for stardom." Said James combing his hair out with a comb he pulled out of his vest inside pocket, which I casually raised my eyebrow to. "But Gustavo wanted Kendall instead but Kendall stupidly said no until we convinced him and told him to call Gustavo back before he flew back to LA and Kendall said he would go with Gustavo to record if he brought the rest of us along and made us a group."

"Wow. What a story. And now you're here, living your, well I guess all of your dream." I say astonished.

"Yeah, but it's a lot of work. More than I think we've ever expected with Gustavo being our producer." Carlos says.

"Well I've never heard of him but he can't be THAT bad, can he?" I question getting worried when I see the look on their faces when I brought up their producer.

"Well…we can't say much with video cameras set up around the room." James said with the rest of the guys nodding their heads.

"We're being watched?" I said scared looking like a crazy person for any signs of cameras.

"Yup, ever since your, grand, entrance into the room." Kendall says remembering my tuck and roll as the other guys reminisce with laughing about it.

"That's on video? I swear if that gets out to the Internet I'm suing." I said pouting as I crossed my arms and crossed my legs and looked away from them. This earned more laughs from them and soon I couldn't keep a straight face anymore and laughed along with them.

"I can't get over how normal you guys are." I say.

"Uh, thank you?" Logan questions suspiciously.

"No, no don't worry, it's a compliment. I mean usually I've seen many, or really have heard of people who've come to Hollywood and have gone completely diva on people. How have you managed to, well avoid that transformation?"

"Easy, with my mom staying with us and my sister around, we're pretty grounded." Kendall says.

"You guys all live together with Kendall's mom and baby sis?" I ask. Wow, crowded place.

"Yup, and we're not ashamed, she's the best cook around."

"Yeah, I'm going to miss that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I just graduated from high school. After the program, I'm going to spend an extra week here with my family, we'll fly back, and pack my bags to head off to college."

"So you're eighteen?" Carlos asked.

"Actually seventeen, I have a late birthday." I said, one thing I sort of hated, everyone was always older than me, even if they were in the same grade as me.

"What college you going to?" Logan asked.

"Yale." I said casually.

"WHAT?" They all exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah, everyone seems to give me that same look and exclaim whenever I bring it up."

"You're a bigger brainiac than I took you for." Kendall teased.

"Why thank you." I joked. "But I'm really into the drama program at Yale more than academic stuff, although Yale definitely has a great curriculum."

"Yeah, no kidding." Logan joked as we all chuckled along with him.

"But who knows you'll probably be picked up by some producer just like us and be famous before you're there too long." James said all of a sudden.

"Don't get my hopes up." I said tucking my legs to my chest again.

"Well hey, our dream came true. Yours will too."

"Well maybe it would've if I didn't get trapped here." I said sort of sad that I was still missing the Festival of Stars. The room fell silent, just the way I wanted it to. "Although now I'm not as upset about it as I was to begin with…" I say sheepishly.

"Oh really?" Kendall asked knowingly.

"Alright, alright, don't get big heads now. I'll admit; you guys are decent individuals." I said.

"_Decent_?" James gasped. "Now that hurt a bit, right here." He said pointing to his heart. At that I couldn't help but laugh at his poutiness.

"Will it make you feel better if I restate myself?"

"Yes." They said in unison.

"Alright…hmm…Okay, how about, there's more to you than meets the eye."

"Mysterious…but I'll take it." Logan says satisfied as the others nod in agreement.

"I'm glad." I said suppressing my giggles. "So, how long has it been now? I mean I feel like I've been cooped up in here for a good few hours now." I say as I look to them. Carlos pulls out his iPod Touch from his back pocket and checks the time.

"It's 7 o'clock now."

"Wait, you've had an iPod Touch this whole time and didn't say anything?"

"Well, yes. Why?"

"Can I have it?" I ask hopefully.

"Uh, sure." He says uneasily and slides it over to where I am. I scoop it off the floor and start going through his phone. Perfect, he has his email up.

"Can I use your email?" I ask.

"Sure, or you could just log me out if you want."

"Thanks." I say quickly as I was already in the middle of signing him out and putting in my info into the username box so I could sign in.

"What are you doing?" James ask as he gets up to look over my shoulder.

"I'm going to try and send an email to my friend Tess." I say as I look through my contacts until I come upon a familiar and funny email that I recognized to be Tess'.

"Why?" Kendall questioned as he and Carlos and Logan got up and looked over my shoulders as well. Wow, I feel like I have NO personal space right now.

"Because…" I emphasize. "If I can reach her, then maybe she can get one of the leaders of the program to come down here, drive me back to the studio, and then I can make it in time. I just hope she's not up on stage now."

"Oh." Carlos said sounding a bit sad. I immediately stopped typing the sentence I was in the middle of writing out and looked up at the boys.

"Aw, no, I don't, well, I do, but…Look, this is a HUGE opportunity for me, this is my one in a million chance, like the one you got, to be noticed and maybe picked up by someone. I need to try and do this, or else I'm going to regret it."

"We get it." Kendall reassured me. "We know this is important. We're just upset because…well…" I put down the phone and I turn around completely to face them.

"What…?"

"Well, you're well, fun to get to know." James finished sheepishly.

"Aw, you guys." I said as I grabbed them and pulled them into a slightly uncomfortable group hug. "I've enjoyed getting to know you guys too. But you know, there may not be a chance that this even goes through to Tess. So we can still spend time hanging out, alright?"

"Okay." Carlos said cheered up.

"Oh and don't forget she still gets to be in our video." James said smiling at me.

"Wait, what'd you just say?" I say absolutely taken back by the comment.

"Oh c'mon James!" Logan says slapping James in the chest as he cringed back at the slap.

"That was supposed to be a surprise!" Kendall complained.

"Will someone please explain what just came out of his mouth?"

"Ugh…fine, since James decided to blow the whole thing up." Kendall complained. "We were supposed to surprise the fan who won, in this case you, with saying that you'll star in our music video for our song 'Big Time Rush' along with us."

"You serious?" I question, thinking that this was some sort of mistake.

"Yeah we are!" Carlos said smiling at my shocked expression on my face.

"So, what do you say? You pumped?"

"Uh, yeah! Majorly!" I say as I bounce up from our sitting positions and start almost bouncing up and down.

"Wow, you sure you're not a fan?"

"Ha, ha, very funny. Even though I don't your music, I'm just happy, well, I'm happy we don't have to say goodbye."

"Aw, she's a keeper." Said James as he wrapped an arm around me and gave me a little side hug.

"Wait, you know, maybe we shouldn't let Amber in our video." Kendall suddenly says breaking the happy mood in the room.

"What?" The other ¾s of Big Time Rush and I exclaim at Kendall's outburst.

"I mean, she's not even a fan of ours." Kendall chided as he turns his back on us with his hands folded behind his back.

"Oh come _on_ Kendall." Carlos says.

"That's not fair, we already told her." Logan adds as he stops Kendall in his tracks.

"Not cool man." James says as he leaves my side.

"No you guys, she has to earn the role on our video." Kendall says as he turns around to face me by my lonesome.

"Alright, fine. What do I have to do?"

"You can't be serious."

"She doesn't need to earn it."

"You have to sing for us to be in the music video."

"Oh I get it, this was your plan all along. Getting me to finally sing for you guys, very clever…" I say walking up to him and waving a finger in his face.

"So, what's it going to be? You gonna sing or what?" He stares at me and I stare right back and we don't say a word. The other guys are standing around us, waiting for someone to say something.

"…Fine…" I say as I give into the staring. Kendall smirks and steps back, as do the rest of the guys so I have room to sing. I sigh and walk over to the piano that was stationed in the corner of the room.

"Whenever you're ready." Kendall smirks at me.

"You know…you're really annoying, or did you already know that?"

"Eh, I'm used to it. I've learned a lot from my sister Katie." He smirks as he crosses his arms as if he was so proud. I roll my eyes but smile anyway. I look at the piano keys for a second as I think about the song I was going to sing. I close my eyes, thinking of the sheet music that I always have in front of me, but I don't feel I need it, I have it basically memorized by this point. I start playing the intro to the song. I take a breath and begin.

We are the crowd we're c-comin' out

Got my flash on it's true

Need that picture of you

It so magical we'd be so fantastical

Lather and jeans garage glamorous

Not sure what it means

But this photo of us it don't have a price

Lovin' you is cherry pie

'Cause you know that baby I

I'm your biggest fan I'll follow you until you love me

Paparazzi

Baby there's no other superstar you know that I'll be

Paparazzi

Promise I'll be kind

But I won't stop until that girl is mine

Baby you'll be famous chase you down until you love me

Paparazzi

I'll be your boy backstage at your show

Velvet ropes and guitars

Yeah cause you're my rock star in between the sets

...Cigarettes

Shadow is burnt yellow dance and we turn

My lashes are dry purple teardrops I cry

It don't have a price loving you is cherry pie

Cause you know that baby I

I'm your biggest fan I'll follow you until you love me

Paparazzi

Baby there's no other superstar you know that I'll be

Paparazzi

Promise I'll be kind

But I won't stop until that girl is mine

Baby you'll be famous chase you down until you love me

Paparazzi

I'm your biggest fan I'll follow you until you love me

Paparazzi

Baby there's no other superstar you know that I'll be

Paparazzi

Promise I'll be kind

But I won't stop until that girl is mine

Baby you'll be famous chase you down until you love me

Paparazzi...

I sigh as I come to the end of the song and the last note on the piano still rings throughout the room. I open my eyes, since I had them closed the whole time and sigh. I take my fingers off the key and it's dead silent. I turn around to face the guys and they're just staring back, like they're in a haze.

"Uh, guys?" I say. No answer. I take a few steps forward and still nothing. I clap my hands together and they break from their frozen state. They look at me and then they all start speaking at once and saying things I can't catch. "Okay, okay, calm down. One at a time."

"You're crazy talented!" Carlos said shaking my shoulders.

"I can't believe you wouldn't sing for us sooner." Logan says shoving Carlos out of the way.

"You're amazing!" James said as he then shoved Logan to get in front of me, a bit close than what I would've liked.

"How has no one signed you on as a rising star yet?" Kendall said from where he was but I looked beyond James's broad shoulders to see him.

"You like it?" I said returning to standing up straight.

"Liked it?" They all asked loudly at the same time I had to take a step back and clear out my right ear.

"Okay, if this contest you're all worried about is what's going to get people to notice you, then you need to send that email, NOW." Carlos says as he picks the iPod off the floor where I left it and he handed it over to me and wrapped my fingers around it.

"Your friend better get that email."

"Wow, never thought I was going to need this much support to send this email."

"Well what are you waiting for? Time's ticking away and you need to send that message now!"

"Alright, alright! Let me finish writing it, I was interrupted by your poutiness remember?"

"Oh, right…" Carlos says as he rubs the back of his neck. I smile at him saying it's okay and I finish up the email as quickly as I can, making sure to remember to tell her where I am to get Adam or Veronica even to get me. I hit the send button and it's taking a painfully long time to load.

"Oh, come on, SEND!" I yell at the hand-held devise.

"God, I forgot how little service there is in here." James says worried.

"Here! Get on my shoulders!" Kendall says as he kneels down.

"You serious?"

"There's a computer upstairs, maybe we can pick up on it's Wi-Fi if we get close enough to the ceiling."

"Alright. It's your funeral if my weight ends up crushing you." I say. I stand behind him briefly before climbing on and walk my legs so that they're in front of Kendall's shoulders and he carefully lifts me up and I almost hit my head on the ceiling.

"Come on baby!" I said.

"This is as high as I can go." Kendall says.

"No, not you! The iPod!" I say as I blush a deep red, which thankfully no one can see since I'm above everyone.

"Oh…" Kendall says.

"Well that's awkward." Logan points out of obvious and I hear him say Ow, I have to thank whoever smacked him for me.

"It sent!" I exclaim. I then move a little more than I should have and I end up falling off of Kendall's shoulders but thankfully Carlos and James together were able to catch me bridal style.

"You okay?" Logan asks.

"Well, that was fun, but can I stand up now please?" I ask politely. Carlos and James put me on the ground and stand me upright.

"Sorry, you okay?" Kendall asks.

"Yeah, I'm just happy that it went through. Oo I hope she answers." I say hopefully hugging the little devise to my chest.

"She will, if she knows this is really important to you," James states.

"Which I know she does." I finish for him.

"Then she'll get the head counselor or whatever and you'll get picked up."

"Hey, so can I have my iPod back?" Carlos asks.

"Oh yeah," I say laughing as I pull it away from me and hand it back to Carlos.

"Thanks. Oh wait, I have a new message!" Carlos says opening up his iPod to check it.

"You do! Who's it from?" I ask as I try to read it but Carlos is already scanning it over.

"Oh cool!" Carlos shouts.

"What?" The rest of us exclaim.

"I can get a 15% discount on a lawn mower." He says happily.

"Ugh…" We all groan as Carlos gets bumped behind the head with James' hand.

"Oh wait, I have a message from…" He looks at the phone and a confused look develops on his face. ?

"That's Tess!" I exclaim jumping for joy.

"Wow…what an email address." Kendall remarks.

"Yeah, I always try to get her to change it, but she's awfully proud of it." I say as I nod my head at the countless of times I've tried to get her to change her email account. She can be so stubborn sometimes, mainly why we're such good friends.

"So, what's it say?" Logan asks impatiently.

"It says 'Oh my god! So that's where you've been all this time? Gosh and I thought you were kidnapped by Russian bandits'. Seriously?" Carlos says looking back up at me.

"Just keep reading, but lose the girl voice, it's creeping me out." I remark.

"Fine. 'I told Adam and said since he's a judge he can't leave his duties so he's sending Antonio to pick you up. He'll be there soon! Get here soon, I'll try and stall but you know I'm not very good at that, hope to see you soon! =S –Tessy'."

"Alright, way to go Tess!" I say as I high five the guys. "Antonio is a speed demon, since he's a cop he can get away with getting here quick."

"And how do you know Adam's friend Antonio?" Logan asks curiously.

"Well on our first free night without supervision Adam brought Antonio to talk to us saying if we drink or suspects that anyone of us was drinking or whatever he would make us take a breathalyzer and bring us down the to the station. But since none of my friends nor I did any of that, we became rather good friends with Antonio, man does he have some crazed stories…" I say as I start laughing when I remember one in particular.

"Oh! What story are you thinking about? I mean that's why you're laughing right? Oo I love a good story!" Carlos said jumping up and down.

"Uh, this story…isn't meant for your ears to hear. I mean I might get cuffed just talking about it!" I say scared of the fact that if I said a word that Antonio would be at me in a second.

"And you better not if you're thinking of the story I think you're thinking about!" Came a new voice.

"Antonio!" I yell as I immediately recognize that voice. It's unmistakable.

"Wow that was quick!" James comments.

"I told you he'd get here quick, he's a cop!" I said proud.

"Okay, stand back, I'm going to bust down the door!" He yells to us.

"Trust me, I tried that, still have a bump forming on my head from when I did." I said touching the bump on my head gingerly.

"Well did you have a battering ram with you when you did?" He asked.

"I'm guessing you do?" I ask already knowing the answer.

"Yes ma'am. Don't leave home without it." I could sense the happiness in his tone; probably remembering all the times he's had to use it.

"Alright then, we'll stand back." I say as I take my arms and push the boys back to the far wall opposite the door. We can hear footsteps moving farther away from where we were and then a battle cry and then shattering of glass. I open my eyes, since I was afraid to see what was going to unfold in front of me if I kept them open, and there I saw Antonio in his uniform and white helmet on his head with a battering ram and breathing heavy in a pool of glass.

"Antonio!" I say as I run up to him and tackle him in a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"My pleasure! Anything for you, now we should get moving, you're almost up am I right?" He asks. I look at the clock and it's already 8:10.

"Oh my God we gotta get a move on!" I say as I shove him out the cracked doorway ready to get to the stage and give it all I got. Right before I step through the door myself, I turn back and see the guys not looking in my direction, standing there in a line all looking pretty bummed. I walk up to them and open my arms out and they jump at the invitation and we share a big group hug.

"Thank you, thanks you guys, for everything, for getting me to sing, I'd probably be all jittery if you guys didn't push to make me do it."

"No problem. So we'll call you later in the week to tell you when the music video is going to be filming."

"Wait, how are you gonna do that, you don't have my number."

"Here," Kendall says pulling out a piece of paper and pen from his back pocket.

"How long's that been there?"

"Well, you never know when you're going to need it, and it's pretty useful right about now." We all laugh and I quickly jot down my number on the piece of paper and hand it back to him.

"Thanks again, you guys are actually amazing." I say as I go around and give individual hugs along with a kiss on the cheek for everyone. I wave goodbye as Antonio is waiting there impatiently for me to move my butt.

We scurry out of the building and get into his cop car and we ride off towards the hotel. I checked the clock and I saw it was now 8:15. Okay, I had to stay calm; I have to believe that everything is going to be fine. I have to stay focused. I need to go over the song in my head again, just to make sure I have it down completely.

I go over the song in my head, and for some reason, after everything I've been through today, I don't feel now the song will show everyone who I am. So I did something crazy, I decided to change my song.

* * *

><p>Hey, so for those of you guys who are reading, the song i chose for Amber to sing was Paparazzi by Greyson Chance, NOT Gaga, i, have to be honest, and say i like his version better, it's more soulful and i find it more meaningful, and another note, he's so adorable, so i hope you enjoyed, if there are grammatical errors, i'm sorry i haven't checked it over yet. so i hope you liked it other than that! Review please and i'll try and post the next part tomorrow or maybe if you're lucky i'll finish it tonight.<p> 


	3. Big Time Reunion

Hi, okay, no big intro this time, just thanks to the people who faved/alerted/reviewd my story, everything is appreciated greatly, and it's almost 3 am now, so enjoy and i hope you like it, if there are grammatical errors again, sorry...again, 3 am

oh! and i probs should've done this beforehand, i DON'T, i repeat, DON'T OWN BIG TIME RUSH, i own Amber Riley Riordan (which the name i don't even own, since Amber Riley is Mercedes from glee and Riordan is my fave author), but i do completely own Tess, Nick, Austin, Caroline, and basically any other name i decide to throw in here last minute :p

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Big Time Reunion<p>

It was 8:25 now; Antonio and I just arrived at the hotel. I immediately ran into the building, not waiting to see if Antonio was behind me or not. I rushed up to the main desk and asked where the Festival of Stars contest was being held. She pointed me down the wall; she said it was last room and the very end of the hall. I quickly thanked her behind my shoulder since I already was making my run down the hallway.

I was too busy yelling over my shoulder to see I ran into a familiar person. It was Nick I found sprawled on the ground when I got up from my position lying on the ground. I groaned first in pain but then when we realized who the other was we tackled each other in a bear hug.

"Girl, where have you been? Do you know how worried we've all been over your little ass?"

"I know, I know, and I'll explain everything later, but it's a bit crazy right now. What time is it?"

"It's almost 8:30, so hurry up and get yourself ready and get on that stage!"

"Yes sir!" I said saluting him after I lifted him off the ground. I gave him a quick hug and then ran down the hall and slid through a crack in the door where I could hear people booing at something. I look up at the stage and I see Tess, my best friend, holding the mike and doing stand up comedy. She can never tell a very good joke. All I could do was stand there until I was shaken from my little surprise when I saw a blonde haired girl coming my way. I saw the angry face of Natalie Woods, and decided that was my point to make my getaway.

I got away safely as she didn't follow me backstage. I went to the sidelines to get Tess' attention by, well, waving my arms around like a lunatic, what else? She eventually looked over at me.

"Well it took you long enough! Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great pleasure to stop what I'm doing and introduce the beautiful and talented Amber Riordan!" she said and immediately people were cheering. Whether it was from Tess stopping with the jokes or that I finally arrived.

I quickly ran on stage and gave Tess a HUGE hug.

"Thanks SO, SO, SO much for covering for me." I say over the intro music.

"Yeah, well you owe me big time!" She hollered back at me pulling me away from me so she could look at me.

"Don't I know it?" I exclaim. "I'll repay you by telling you the craziest story."

"Deal!" she said running off stage. I sighed and stared out at the HUGE crowd in front of me. It wasn't just the people I knew from the trip, there were the leaders, then there were even people out there who were staying at the hotel.

"Well, hi everyone! Sorry for making you go through, that…" I said as I point my thumb to the sidelines where Tess walked off. Thankfully that gained me some laughs that relaxed me a bit. "Well, as you might've heard, I was going to perform a song that I've been working on for the past four weeks. But from what I've been through today, I've changed my mind." That little bit of information aroused people to start talking amongst themselves in the ground in a confused matter.

"Alright, alright, settle down. I know it's very shocking, especially to those out there who know me very well and know I love it when everything's perfect. But, what I was going to sing, doesn't express the feelings I feel now, the feeling of wanting to be heard, to be noticed and break out of my little shell that I have always had; although it's slowly been fading over the past few weeks. And hopefully this song will explain that further."

I walk up to the keyboard that was set up just for me, then attached the mike to the stand that was in front of it and sat down at the stool. I looked at the sidelines to see Tess, joined by Nick, Austin, Caroline and many of my other friends giving me thumbs up. And that's all I needed to get me to finally start.

Listen, to the song here in my heart

A melody I start but I can't complete

Oh, the time has come for my dreams to be heard

They will not be pushed aside and turned

Into your own, all 'cause you won't listen.

Listen!

I am alone at a crossroads

I'm not at home in my own home

And I've tried and tried

To say what's on my mind

You should have known.

I get out of my seat and start playing more with the feelings I've been bottling up and new ones that were coming out of nowhere as I kicked the seat back.

Oh, Now I'm done believin' you

You don't know what I'm feelin'

I'm more than what you've made of me

I've followed the voice, you gave to me

But now I've gotta find my own

You should have listened.

I signaled for my friend Caroline, the master pianist, to take charge of the piano as I grabbed the mike off the stand and went to the center of the stage and started singing the next verse.

There was someone here inside

Someone I thought had died, so long ago

Oh, I'm screaming out

For my dreams will be heard

They will not be pushed aside or turned

Into your own

All 'cause you won't listen.

Listen!

I am alone at a crossroads

I'm not at home in my own home

And I've tried and tried

To say what's on my mind

You should have known, oh.

Now I'm done believing you

You don't know what I'm feeling

I'm more than what you've made of me

I've followed the voice, you gave to me

But now I've gotta find my own.

I don't know where I belong

But I'll be moving on

If you don't, if you won't... listen!

To the song here in my heart

A melody I start, but I will complete, oh.

Now I'm done believin' you

You don't know not what I'm feelin'

I'm more than what you've made of me

I've followed the voice you think you gave to me.

Now I've gotta find my own, my own.

Before I even finished the last note, everyone was cheering over my singing and giving hoots and hollers that just raised my spirits. I stopped singing and held the mike up to the sky and I just stood there staring out at the audience in disbelief as they kept going. Before I could even prepare myself, my friends from the sidelines tackled me in hugs and were talking all at once and just overall supporting me. I was forever grateful to them.

"Thank you Amber!" Said an announcer I didn't even know existed as I handed him the mike so he could talk over the crowd. As he continued talking, my friends and I went off to the sides and we continued talking and I kept giving hugs to all my friends. But while that was going on, I saw that Nick and Tess were just standing there looking at me and grinning.

"What?" I asked. They still kept grinning. "Why are you grinning? I thought you guys would be mad because I missed your performance." I said confused and upset since I really wanted to see their dance.

"Let's give it up for Tess Rogers and Nick Braun!" the announcer on stage said directing his hand towards the side we were all standing at.

"Surprise!" They both cheered.

"You guys delayed your dance?" I asked completely shocked.

"Of course we did, we wanted you to see it!" Nick said over the roar of people from the audience.

"No go out in the audience and film us silly!" Tess said throwing my phone at me. I looked at them with a big goofy grin on my face as I nodded my head and then the rest of the gang and I went off to the front of the stage so that I could film their dance.

First it started out Tess and Nick pretend fighting each other, then each would do what they're best at. So Tess would do her hip-hop moves, then Nick would counter with his modern/contemporary style. Then all of sudden they freeze in spot and they combine both their talents and create a new style all their own.

.com/watch?v=pijC3Muasew

Then after they were on the ground, Nick is the first one to get up and does break dancing, which in my opinion I never could ever picture him do, but there he was, doing it like it was so natural for him. Then he fell to the floor and Tess got up and the tempo changed and she did a lyrical style with a mix of modern and it was so graceful and it was nice seeing this side of Tess.

Then she falls back down and they do the same mesh of modern/hip-hop as before but they switch spots periodically and it looks absolutely amazing and unbelievable at the same time. The music ends as the grab each other's hands and fall to the ground together but then slowly get up and shake hands and then walk off stage.

The crowd goes absolutely crazy over their dance and they come back out and do some bows but my friend and I, being the crazy proud supporters we were, crawled up onto the stage and tackled them in hugs and congratulations just like they did for me. The announcer and some backstage people had to escort us off as we were spending too much time on stage and they had to wrap things up.

Although it seemed only like a matter of minutes since we were all talking crazy fast and all at once, the votes were in from the judges and everyone who participated came out on stage and we all managed to squeeze together as we awaited for what was to happen next.

"Now this year, it was such a hard choice for the judges to only pick one performance tonight, but the results are in and one person tonight, will be taking over this huge trophy, over here."

The announcer directed our point of focus to the shining red and gold trophy that was at least a foot tall sitting in the corner. "And along with that trophy the winner will get a special prize, depending on what they performed here tonight. Now, are you ready?" Everyone cheered loudly, everyone who was up on stage to the audience below us.

"I can't hear you!" The announcer called out to everyone and we cheered even louder than before, so loud that some might say they felt the whole hotel tremble a bit.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Sheesh." There were some laughs as he opened up the envelope that said the name of the winner on the inside.

"And the winner, of this year's Festival of Stars, is…" He took out the letter that was inside the envelope and we all stomped our feet, as if we were the drums.

"Oh wait, I am misspoken. The _winners_ of tonight's event are…" The silence was absolutely killing me, but when the announcer's booming voice said the names on the sheet, everyone was overjoyed. "Tess Rogers and Nick Braun!"

If you said Tess and Nick were shocked, that'd be an understatement. The two of them were in complete and utter shock that they didn't move, even when the spotlight fell on the two of them while my friends and I were totally opposite as we all were jumping up and down for them. I finally shoved the two of them forward and they woke up from their little shock and then started jumping along with us and they hugged each other and then ran over to the announcer and hugged him.

As that was happening, two guys in black came up from behind them and they were both holding the trophy that the two of them won.

"Now, because they both won, we had specially made another trophy so that we don't have to see the cat fight that would unfold for whoever would be the one to keep the one trophy. It was originally our backup since last year the trophy while being presented got knocked over. But thankfully we fired those guys and have better guys this year." The guys then ran back stage and brought out the other huge foot tall trophy.

"Now, now, we're not through here." The announcer said. Everyone stared at him and asked people next to them what was going on, not knowing that this was originally supposed to happen; sneaky judges keeping this a secret all this time.

The announcer continued. "Apparently, there was someone just as good who also deserved a prize this year. Now, this award is for someone who's improved overall, it's a new trophy that the judges this year decided to create. Now, the most improved trophy goes to…." There was a long pause, longer than before, until the announcer finally shouted.

"Amber Riordan!"

"OMG, THAT'S YOU!" My friends were screaming around me. I was stunned and was so overjoyed I started crying a bit, although I rarely ever cry in public. I went up to the announcer and gave him a hug as a guy wearing black from off stage handed the announcer a silver trophy with a bird on top that said "most improved" on it and he handed it to me. I took it in both my hands and turned to the audience and bowed and held to the trophy up and people started cheering all around.

I turned around and stood next to my two best friends who their trophies as we all got photos taken. Thankfully by this time I calmed down a bit and wiped the tears from my face. Once the pictures were through, I hugged my best friends. And almost as if it were planned, I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket.

I pull away from my friends and click the button on my phone to see who could've texted me. It read,

_Hey, it's Kendall. I thought I check in and see how everything went…the guys and I were stressing over the competition after you left._

I couldn't help but smile to myself and put in my pass code so that I could reply to Kendall's text.

_Everything was great! I didn't win the prize, but I got the most improved trophy, which still rocks! _

"Hey, who you texting?" I hear a voice from over my shoulder. I turn around and see Tess and Nick staring at me.

"Don't tell me it's someone from that band you met, is it?" Nick asks.

"Well…I'd be lying to you if I answered no…" I said sheepishly.

"No way! That's awesome, okay, now that the show's over and everyone's packing up, you need to tell me," Tess says.

"Eh-hem." Nick cuts in.

"I mean, tell _us_," Tess continues.

"Thank you." Nick comments.

"What went down when you were forced against your will?" Tess finishes.

"Oh come on you guys, how about we discuss everything tomorrow? I kind of just want to go out and celebrate our awesome wins!" I say trying to skip over my day. I really wasn't in the mood to reminisce.

"No! You told me you would spill everything!"

"Okay, fine! How about when we hit that new club we found out about yesterday I tell you two everything, sound good?"

"Deal." They say in unison.

"It's like you two are related or something…it's freaky." We all laugh at that.

"Okay, so let's all get ready for the night. We'll give ourselves an hour to invite more people and change outfits."

"Then we'll meet at the front desk and head out to Club Indigo!"

"Alright, I'll text Austin and inform him. See you guys later!" He says as he hugs Tess and I, which we obviously return and he jumps off the stage and runs out the door. He reminded me of a gazelle just running through the fields of Africa.

"You know, he's just like a gazelle, you know, just in the way he ran off just now." Tess says.

"I was just thinking that!" I say to her. We turn to look at each other.

"Weird…" We both say in unison as we burst in giggles as we link arms and head up to the room we both share.

Tess jumped straight into the shower, obviously since she was drenching in sweat from dancing so hard. Me, I was fine, the lights were hitting me as bad as they were hitting Nick and Tess both, and they were dancing to make things more extreme for them. So I just rummage through my stuff, looking for a new outfit to wear since I felt slightly uncomfortable being in the outfit that Natalie gave me. And speaking of her, I can't even imagine what she's feeling right now; all her plans gone up in smoke. Oh well, not my problem.

I hear my phone vibrate on my bed, currently under an outfit I was maybe choosing to wear tonight. But my phone didn't just vibrate once this time, it kept vibrating, meaning someone was calling me. There was number on the screen that I didn't recognize but I decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello?" I said casually.

"SO?" I hear four voices scream at the other end of the line, causing me to drop my phone on the ground from the sudden outburst. I pick up my phone and hold it to my ear again.

"Guys?"

"Yes?" They say yet again in unison.

"What happened?" James asked impatiently. They were so loud I had to put them on speakerphone since I couldn't stand holding my phone up to my ear. I wasn't in the mood to lose my hearing.

"Yeah and why didn't you win?" Logan asked.

"Well…" I start to say, thinking where to start explaining.

"Because I won!" Came a voice from behind me. I turn around and I see Tess standing in her shower robe with her hair tied up in a towel on top of her head.

"Please don't tell me that's Natalie?" Kendall's voice rings throughout the room.

"Gasp, don't you dare even compare me to that son of a-" Tess starts saying but I cut her off.

"Veronica's next door!"

"Oh, right, anyway, no, I'm not that little you-know-what, I'm Amber's #1 best friend." Tess says proudly putting her fists on her hips and puffing out her chest.

"So you're Tess?" James asks.

"You talked about me?" Tess addressed me.

"Well obviously when I emailed you." I explained.

"Good point, just wanted to make sure you didn't say anything bad about me, that's all."

"Now I'm the one who's insulted." I say pretending to be sad.

"I'm kidding! Goodness, thank God we're going out, you need to relax." Tess says playing along.

"Oo fun! Where are you guys going?" Carlos asked. I could just picture him jumping up and down at the thought.

"We're going to a new club that opened up last week called Club Indigo."

"Oh yeah I heard about that, sounds awesome." James says.

"Hey," I start to say as I look over at Tess, as usual she already knows what I'm about to say and nods her head in approval. "Wanna come with?"

"For real?" Carlos asks and this time I do actually hear him jumping up and down and even some high fives.

"Sure I'm sure! I'm sure no one else will mind a few more people."

"Are you kidding, you know Nick, he always says," Tess says.

"'The more the merrier and the merrier the boozier'." We both say at the same time in our best Nick impersonations that have us laughing to the point I fall off the bed.

"What was that?" Logan asks.

"Oh nothing, I just fell, no big," The boys laugh at the other end of the phone and Tess and I join in. "Anyway, meet us at the Double Tree Hotel in Santa Monica at, 10." I say pausing briefly to look at the clock and seeing it was almost nine.

"Alright, sounds good." Kendall says.

"See you guys then!" James and Carlos say together.

"Bye you guys!" Tess and I singsong say at the same time as we hang up the phone.

"Okay, now, I want to know about these boys, NOW."

"Well, where to begin?" I question myself. I think for a second then grab my phone and go on Safari and type in 'Big Time Rush' on Google. It loads as Tess sits down next to me.

.

"Okay, well here's a picture of them." I say as I let Tess hold my phone. "On the far left, that's Carlos. He's the goofy one, and thankfully in this picture he's not wearing his hockey helmet."

"He wears a hockey helmet?" I nod. "Like, all the time?"

"Well I met him today he was. Don't ask me why because I don't even know, well, actually it might be because before these guys were a band they lived in Minnesota and played for their school hockey team."

"I guess why in this picture it looks like they're holding hockey sticks." Tess says pointing to the sticks that Logan and James were holding. "And aw, that's nice, they knew each other before they were a band."

"Yeah I found that a bit shocking too. Anyway, next to the bundle of joy that is Carlos is the smarty pants of the bunch who could possibly be a doctor when he's older, Logan."

"Yeah you're right, he looks like he's a smarty."

"Yeah, okay, so that's Kendall, he's sort of like the leader of the band and he's nice."

"Yummy." Tess says and I can't help but laugh as she nonchalantly licks her lips. "Tall, Blonde, and Eyebrows."

"Oh gosh, please stop, I don't want to hear that." I say as I cover my ears. I mean I would like to consider that we're friendly and I definitely don't want to hear that if I want to be their friends.

"Why? You know I'm right." Tess says teasingly as she scrunches her face up at me with a big grin on her face.

"…No comment." And of course Tess starts laughing, as I try my best to not. "Anyway, and last but not least, is James."

"Wow!" Tess exclaims.

"Yeah, he's the pretty boy of the group." I say as I see her whole face just light up along with her eyes sparkling almost as she stares at the picture.

"And I can see why!" Tess says holding my phone closer to her face. "Okay, I've decided, I want him!"

"Tess! Come on you haven't even met them yet." I say as I take my phone away from her. Why didn't I see this coming?

"Does that even matter?"

"Uh, yeah!" I say throwing my arms up in the air as I get off my bed.

"Well when I meet them later, I'll still choose him!" She says as she crosses her legs.

"Whatever you say." I say as I roll my eyes and we both start chuckling. "Now come on," I move towards her and hold out my hands for her to take and she stands up from sitting on my bed with my help. "Get dressed and you'll meet them soon enough."

"Yes ma'am!" She salutes me off clumsily and she heads off to her side of the room and starts rummaging around for an outfit to wear. Thankfully before the boys called I had my outfit picked out.

.

And it took a while but Tess, along with my help and even Nick's help when we were really stumped between two outfits came to help us pick a nice get up for Tess to wear. Of course Nick was ready and bouncing to go so he made a quick choice, but it was the right choice, as usual.

/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Editor-Polyvore_

"Are you ladies done yet?" Called Nick from outside as he shoved him out the door a few minutes ago when we had to get changed.

"Don't be such a guy, we'll be ready soon." Tess calls out to him.

"Come on! We're all waiting out here." Another voice I recognize to be Austin's voice complains.

"Austin you're so impatient, keep your pants on and we'll be out in a minute!" I say a bit miffed. We're not taking _that_ long. And does it hurt to want to look our best?

"My pants are on…" The both of us can hear Austin mumble from outside which gets us laughing. After I brushed my hair and put some gel in it so it wasn't frizzy, I slipped my top on and pushed my hair away from my face. I was finally ready.

"You ready Tess?" I ask as I turn around and see Tess putting on her last finishing touches on her makeup, although she rarely ever needs any.

"I'm ready and steady!" She says as she caps her mascara and stands up and does a little twirl in the mirror.

"Good, let's get this party started right!" I say loudly.

"Woo!" I hear cheering from outside along with Tess. We laugh as we step outside our room and hug our friends and thank them for their patience and we head into the elevator.

We get to the bottom floor and we can hear arguing from afar. Us being the curious teens that we were wanted to check out what was up. So from the elevators we round the corner and see four well dressed guys in a struggle, nothing too serious, besides the fact that two were on the other people's back and the two not on people's back were holding each other's shirts.

"Eh-hem." I said to the quartet. Gosh, these guys were just too much. They all stop tussling and pulling at each other to look in my direction and they stare at me, then look at each other and then back at me and give sheepish smiles.

"Hi…" They say in unison. Gosh I never noticed but whenever they say something at the same time it sounds almost like they're singing. Carlos and Logan get off of James and Kendall's backs. And they stand there, trying their best to make it look like nothing happened.

"Hi boys." I say as I walk up to them and we have a quick little group hug.

"Uh, Amber…?" I can hear Nick ask from behind me.

"Oh, I'm being rude. Boys, these are my friends. This is Tess, you sort of met, this is Nick, who also won along with Tess, and then there's Austin, Caroline, DJ, Matt, Sophie, and Lydia. Guys, meet Big Time Rush."

"Hi." They all say in unison.

"So you're the mystery boys that we've haven't heard enough about." Nick says. I give him a look.

"What's he mean by that?" Logan whispers behind me. I turn around to face them.

"I haven't had enough time between the competition and getting ready to explain the whole story about what happened today."

"Oh." Logan says.

"Now, let's move on out, shall we?" I say as I put my hands on my hips. Everyone nods in agreement and our group of thirteen goes through the entranceway of the Double Tree Hotel and I can hear everyone starting to get to know the boys and already I hear the cheerful noise of laughing. I was worried about my friends meeting the boys when I invited them to come, but now I'm happy they've got to meet one another.

Obviously with a big a group as us we couldn't take a car, so we just decided to take the bus and it only took one stop. So we all pilled out of the bus and headed across to the street where written in blue neon was the name "Club Indigo".

It's around 10:15 now and the club when we entered was pumping with music and people dancing and drinking; my kind of party.

"Whoa." Tess and I say as we enter.

"This place; is awesome!" I hear Carolos cheer loudly over the loud music.

"See? What'd I tell ya?" James says.

"Well what are we standing around here by the door for?" Tess says as she grabs my arm, "Let's make a move to a table and then we can dance!" We look to each other excitedly and just cruise our way through the dancing people and find ourselves a table with our friends not too far behind.

We manage to find a large booth in the corner of the club where it could sit at most ten people, so we lucky first ten slid down seats and took up all the room we could manage as the three stragglers grabbed some chairs and surrounded the open area of the table not occupied by the round couch. From the corner of my eye I can see two waiters staring in our direction, they seem to be fighting over who should serve us. After a bit the loser comes over and asks us what we want.

We all order some drinks after a few minutes since it took long for certain people to pick what they can handle. Finally after a few minutes more, three waiters came back to our table and handed everyone their beverages, we gave a round of thanks and drank up. Once the waiters' left, the music all of a sudden took on a new beat and I saw Tess jumping in her seat, she was at the end and so she got up with joy when the song came on.

"Oh my God I love this song!" She says as she starts dancing a bit in her place.

"Hey! We should do the dance we learned to this!" Nick suggests as he gets out of his seat, since he was a straggler, as Lydia also stands up with him and they all decide to go to the dance floor without another word said.

"Oh _this_ I gotta see." I say as I get up from my seat. "Hey come on, you have to see them dance, they're off the hook!" I say as I pull up Kendall and thankfully with that notion I get the other guys and the rest of my friends to follow suit to the dance floor as we see a huge circle open up and Lydia, Nick, and Tess were standing in the center and they were already in sync as the music flowed and then the music kicked up and they broke loose.

.com/watch?v=_igIMPkaHco

Everyone came together in an uproar when my friends were done with their dance. And to my surprise I saw three new bodies, which I couldn't see well with the lights flashing everywhere and messing up my vision, enter the center of the circle to show off their moves when the music picked back up again since it was a remix it started off with the beginning again, smart DJ to know when a dance battle was definitely in motion.

I look over to see if the guys were impressed or not with what was going on but to my shock Kendall was the only one standing next to me now. I tap his shoulder and mouth, 'where are the other guys?'. He points to the center of the circle and I see James in the middle, and Carlos and Logan to his sides slightly behind him.

"No way…" I say in disbelief and I can hear Kendall laughing from next to me.

"Way." He says.

"Wait, but why aren't you with them?" I ask confused.

"I'm not that much of a dancer, but my buds have really improved." He says sheepishly. I give him a sympathetic look. "No worries, I'm okay with being awkwardly coordinated." He shrugs off.

"Well, alright then, let's see what they got." I say as I cross my arms. At first, they all start independently doing their own things. But once the music skips through the intro the trio is in sync and I'm surprised by their moves. They're really good, wow, so, they're cute, they're a band, and they can dance, well minus Kendall, triple threat!

.com/watch?v=AdQT8b-kg28&feature=related (0:47, Carlos and Logan do their signature flips; 1:28 when they switch lines, James flips)

The crowd goes crazy, and that includes Kendall and I as we join the center of the circle and congratulate the guys. Tess, Nick, and Lydia come and join our chat when all of a sudden the speakers stop playing music and everyone's attention, well besides ours, were directed at the DJ stand where the DJ starts talking into the mike.

"Alright, that was some sick dance moves. Now for those who don't know, that last dance was performed by the upcoming group; Big. Time. Rush!" We get shocked out of our conversation when the lights start focusing around where we were standing and the guys are looking around as people are cheering. They wave back at the audience and they cheer louder.

"Sing for us!" I could hear a group of girls say from somewhere in the mix of the people crowded around us. As soon as they said that, the whole audience was begging for the boys to sing.

"So, Big Time Rush," The DJ says as he shushes the crowd. "Do you want to disappoint this many people?" The boys look to me expectedly.

"Why are you all staring at me for? Do you need permission?" I say in disbelief although I can't help but chuckle a bit.

"You sure we can?"

"Oh come on guys, you're big boys, and besides, I don't want to get kicked out because of you guys." I say as I shove them forward towards the stage. "Now go on and do your thing!" I say as the crowd then starts cheering the boys on as they all make their way.

The DJ calls the guys up on stage as me and my friends cheer them off as they grab mikes that were hooked to the stands out front. They discuss something together, probably the song they were going to sing, and out of nowhere James pulls out a CD and the DJ pops it in and the music rolls out of the speakers. Kendall steps up and starts off the song.

[Verse 1]

Do you want to

Ride in a big limousine?

Tell me do you want to

Take a little bite of the fame machine?

If you wanna be discovered

And end up on the cover of every star-studded supermarket magazine

They start to sing in unison except for James, probably waiting to hit a huge note for when the chorus strikes in.

You can do it

Stick right to it.

It could happen tonight.

[Chorus]

You wanna be famous. (famous)

You wanna be the one who's living the life.

You wanna be famous. (famous)

You wanna be the one who's taking a free ride.

This time it's James' moment to shine as he takes over the next few versus.

[Verse 2]

Do you want to

Cut to the front of the line?

Baby, do you need to

See your name in lights just like the Hollywood sign?

Come on, we gotta work harder.

Fight the fight together.

Take you to the top.

We've got the winning team.

It's your moment.

You can own it.

It's the American dream.

Then once again the boys come together and harmonize beautifully for when the chorus kicks in and the club just seems to liven up a bit as me and my friends get up from our sets and get out on the dace floor and start dancing.

[Chorus]

You wanna be famous. (famous)

You wanna be the one who's living the life.

You wanna be famous. (famous)

You wanna be the one who's taking a free ride.

Then it's left to Carlos to come in with the bridge and boy did he surprise me with how he held the notes out flawlessly. I squeeze my way up to the front with Tess as we cheer the boys on and Carlos takes my hand and gives me a little twirl as he sings the lines.

[Bridge]

All day.

All night.

The camera's on and it never lies.

You're under

The spotlight.

Twenty-four seven til the end of time.

Whoa, oh.

You wanna be famous.

Whoa, oh.

You wanna be famous.

The music picks up yet again as the boys once again harmonize on the chorus.

[Chorus]

You wanna be famous. (famous)

You wanna be the one who's living the life.

You wanna be famous. (famous)

You wanna be the one who's taking a free ride.

You wanna be famous.

And just when I thought Logan was being left out of all the fun he is the one who gets the wrap up with a song, and it rocks!

Your song is on the radio.

high rotation video.

Bright lights, fan mail.

Paparazzi on your tail.

Tour bus, private jet.

Thinking big ain't failed you yet.

Just one thing you can't forget.

Takes more than one day.

Aim high, never rest.

Put your passion to the test.

Give your all, never less.

Famous means that you're the best.

They all strike a pose together and we all go wild at how amazing they all were. They look so adorable when they're being bashful about how good they were. They get off the stage and thank the DJ for hooking them up and James gets back the CD. Tess and I meet up with the guys before they could get back to our table congratulating them on an awesome performance with rounds of hugs.

"Wow! I didn't know you guys were THAT good!" Tess yells over the music that was blasting through the speakers, just as astonished as I was by their performance.

"What, you were expecting us to suck or something?" James asks jokingly.

"No, but from a couple of boys from a hockey team in a town in Minnesota you definitely have a bright future ahead of you." I compliment them.

"Maybe, if we keep working at it." Kendall says.

"Whatever you say Mr. Modesty." I reassure him by giving him a slight squeeze around the middle that he happily returns and we get back in our seats and spend the rest of the night talking and laughing and overall having a great time, well of course that didn't go without a couple more drinks.

The rest of the night flew by and before we knew it the clock struck 12:45. So, knowing that the leaders were going to flip on us for being out so late, we decided to head back to the Double Tree with the guys tagging along. We were all a little tipsy to say lightly and so the guys didn't feel like driving back so the guys split themselves up between our four guy friends. Although James did fight hard to stay in our room, aka Tess's room, for the night but we finally convinced him that wouldn't be a good idea.

We all pile into the elevator, and in pairs, we all get off on our respected floors until it's just Tess, Nick, Kendall, and me in the elevator. We get to Tess and my floor and we start to make our way out when I feel something pull me back into the elevator. I turn around to see Kendall was the one who pulled me back and then before I could even process what was happening I felt Kendall's lips land on mine.

I try to pull away, since the sensors in my head are screaming like crazy, reminding me that I have a boyfriend, but my body is so numb and getting over the buzz from the alcohol I consumed I couldn't pull away, but when we parted I couldn't help but ask,

"What was that for?" although I meant for it to come out like I was upset about it but it came out more curious than upset.

"Just, thanks, I guess, for giving us this time to just hang out, we haven't had that much down time in a while with becoming a band." Kendall replies.

"Uh, you're welcome…" I said shocked by his answer. It was rather sweet in a way. I never got thanked like that before, not even from Lukas.

"See you tomorrow." He says as I nod my head and start to make my way out of the elevator when I get this feeling in my stomach and I turn around and give Kendall a peck on the cheek. Literally I had no idea what was going through my head at the time but I left without saying another word as I saw Tess bug out next to me as we headed towards our room.

We close the door behind us and I head to my bed and I fall on top of it, my face landing on my pillow and I moan.

"Okay, _what_ did you do?" Tess almost yells at me.

"Honestly," I said muffled into my pillow. I turn my head to the side and stare into space. "I have no idea, but I shouldn't have done it."

"Uh, ya think?" Tess said obviously as she threw her hands up in the air.

"I know it was wrong, but did you hear what he said? It was so nice and sweet. I mean, it was just a little thank you." I said as I tried reasoning with Tess, and also reason with my own brain that was too yelling at me.

"Yeah, but then you went back in and gave him a thank you of your own."

"Yeah…" I sigh.

"Oh, my, God! No way! You like him don't you?" She said as she paused from taking her shoes off to walk over to me and kneel next to me so we were on the same eye level, meaning I couldn't look away from her.

"How could I? I have a boyfriend." I say as I turn onto my back and look up at the ceiling. Tess

"Yeah, but in most relationships that doesn't mean it's not possible for you to, I don't know, be tired with your old boyfriend to fancy someone new."

"Yeah, but that's called _cheating_." I complain as I take the pillow from under my head and slap it over my face as I groan in annoyance. I feel Tess sit on my bed and she rubs my leg in hope to comfort me. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"What do you mean? It's over, it was just one kiss, you're both kind of drunk, and it's now a thing of the past."

"No, that's not it. I…" I try to say but stop myself short.

"You what?" Tess asks curiously.

"I can't stop thinking about it." I say.

"What? The fact you cheated…?" Tess bluntly asked.

"No," I groan as I lift the pillow off my face to look at her. She looks right back at me and then I can't find it in myself to say what I wanted to say and I look away."

"Then what Amber? What's up?" She asks as she turns her body towards me fully as she sits crossed legged on my bed. I get up and sit the same way but I'm still hugging my pillow.

"I can't stop thinking about those sparks." I say quietly as I hug my pillow tighter.

"What 'sparks'?" Tess asks quietly.

"The ones I felt when Kendall kissed me…" I say as I internally kick myself for one, sounding like a stupid love story, and two, for admitting that.

"You mean…like the sparks you're supposed to be feeling with Lukas?"

"…Yeah…" I say sadly.

"Oh girl, you got it bad." Tess says sympathetically.

"Please, don't tell." I beg.

"Don't tell anyone about your little kiss or don't tell Lukas?" Tess asks with some attitude I really didn't want to hear right now but I pushed those feelings aside and went for another approach.

"Both…?" I ask pleadingly as I look at her with big eyes and hold out my lower lip to look like I'm begging, which I was. She sighs a she runs her fingers through her crazy curly hair.

"Fine, I won't." Tess reluctantly says.

"Thank you!" I say as I hug her from the side.

"But you should tell Lukas, eventually I mean." She says pulling me away and giving me the look that meant she wasn't joking around.

"Yeah, I'll go with eventually." I say as I lean back against the back of my bed.

"Speaking of which, why haven't you talked to him or even brought him up throughout this whole trip?" Tess asks curiously and almost suspiciously too.

"Because he wasn't allowed to bring his cell phone to Lacrosse camp, so I haven't been able to reach him." I say honestly.

"Oh now that's bullshit." Tess scuffs.

"What gives you that idea?"

"I don't know, it just sounds stupid. Like an excuse almost." Tess ponders on the idea for a bit and was going to say more but then decided not to.

"What, you think he was…lying?" I ask almost like it was a foreign word to even relate back to Lukas, who's usually very honest with me, and usually to many other people, even bad ways.

"I don't know what to think…my brain is almost fried. Now we thankfully get to sleep in tomorrow, but even with that, it's 1:30 now and we should get some shut eye."

"Alright, you're right." I say as I get swing my legs over my bed along with Tess to get up off my bed as we both get changed and head to the bathroom to remove our makeup and brush out teeth.

"Tess?" I say after I spit into the sink after gargling some mouthwash.

"Hm?" Tess asks as she still brushing her teeth.

"Am I going to be okay?" I ask honestly but I also sounded more afraid than I wanted to let on. Tess stops brushing her teeth and quickly spits in the sink.

"Aw, Amby." Tess said using the little nickname that is just suitable enough to be my nickname as she pulls me into one of her famous hugs.

"I mean, you said it yourself, I got it bad." I said. She pulls me out of the hug and holds me at arms length.

"Look, just try to relax and not think about it, and when and if you see him tomorrow, depending how late it takes for him and the other boys to bail out of the hotel, just relax and treat everything the way it was before. And if you still get those little feelings in your tummy that remind you of, you know," Tess said not wanting to actually say 'when you kissed Kendall', but I got her drift. "Just try to push it down as long as you can and if it bothers you so much just confront Kendall about it if he tries something or if he suspects something changed, okay?"

"Wow, you seem like a pro at this, should I be concerned why?"

"Nah, I just watch way too much TV and not do enough homework." We both laugh at how true that statement was.

"So speaking of the other boys, what do you think of James…?" I tease as I poke her belly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tess says as she goes to rinse her toothbrush and put it in the cup she used to hold it.

"Oh come on! Before we left you were saying how much you wanted him. And I saw after they were done performing how you kept talking to him…Hmm…anything I should know?"

"Nope, well, at least not yet anyway…" She says winking at me as she leaves the bathroom and leaves me standing there, hanging there wanting to hear more.

"Oh come on! Is that seriously all you're going to tell me?"

"In reality, there's nothing much there, although the fact still remains that I want him."

"Oh you…" I say as she and I laugh together and then yawn in unison.

"Well time to get some beauty sleep, and I know I need it."

"Whatever you say, Tess." I sigh and nod my head. She was already super pretty, even without makeup; she definitely didn't need it. Although I don't know why she was always self-conscious whenever I brought it up. So to avoid a pointless disagreement, I left it alone and just said, "Good night."

"G'night Amber Riley." I heard Tess said as she snuggled up more in her sheets. I yawn once more as I get under the comfort of my own sheets and quickly head into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>okay, so that was long, -ish, please review and tell me what you thought, sorry it's sort of a filler, just thought it'd be nice to add something that isn't apart of the real order of things yet, and it won't happen for i think two more chapters, but the next chappie (god how i love that word) will be a good one, the program's over and Amber gets to spend more time with BTR, well since she still has to be in their music video! (spoiler) but don't worry, there will be plenty of other surprises thrown in there somewhere... :) well, GOOD NIGHT!<p> 


	4. Big Time Recording pt 1

hi, i know, for people reading this on my time, it's 1:31 right now but i just had to get this out here...i worked hard on it, again it's a filer but i think it's a fun chapter, so i hope you enjoy it!

OH! and big thanks to people again who have been reviewing and faving and adding me to their whatevers, it just gets me to want to keep writing, so if you keep that up, i'll keep spewing out chapters, okay that sounded gross, whatever, once again ENJOY!

i don't own big time rush and never will but i hope to meet them someday, but i do own Project Star-catcher, Amber Riley (not the name), Tess, Nick, Cliff (NEW), and Lydia, but i don't own the literal person who's been reviewing, but i own the character i made up who happen to share your name :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Big Time Recording pt. 1<p>

"Well, it's been fun while it lasted."

"Yeah…" My two best friends sigh at once. We stand there silently for a second until Tess blurts out.

"Are you sure you can't come back with us?" Nick asks hopefully. Since he was already in college, he didn't need to go back for a while and was going to stay at Tess' place, since she has A LOT of room.

"My parents said it'd be best to save money if I stayed in LA by myself for a week and a half and then they come up for the rest of the time."

"But that's so stupid to leave you by yourself."

"Actually…" I say mischievously.

"What?" Nick asks in a suspicious tone.

"I'm staying at the Ritz-Carlton as an apology from my parents for their absence for the next several days."

"You're WHAT?" They both exclaim loud enough to attract the eyes of innocent bystanders.

"Yeah, I know, it kind of got me off guard as well."

"Lucky!" Tess said. We all laughed at how weird it was and at Tess' frustration. Then it got silent again and we were all looking at each other. We all drop whatever we were holding, in Nick and Tess' cases their luggage and have a group hug.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much!" I say as I feel I'm already about to cry. I let go of them and then quickly drag them both into the hug. We stay like that for a while until there's a loudspeaker saying that the plane was departing soon and that all passengers should be boarded by now.

"Well, this is goodbye for now." Tess says as she messes up my hair.

"Gosh I hope you're still around Boston by the time I get back from vacation with the family."

"I'll try my best, I mean it's only school after all I have to worry about." We all chuckle at Nick's remark and hug one more time. Tess and Nick grab their bags and they hand the tickets to the flight attendant by the counter and they head through the doors. I sigh as I wipe the tears that weren't falling yet but were begging to and I walked away.

I dig my phone out of my back pocket and call the cab service to pick me up from the airport and bring me back to the Double Tree so I could pick up my stuff and then pack in the trunk and head to the Ritz.

It was noon around the time I left the airport and I finally crashed on my comfy new bed in my apartment at 1:30. I arrived at the Ritz at 1 and then they said my room wasn't ready so I had to wait around and then got escorted to my new room. It was comfy but nothing special, I mean just the fact that I'm at the Ritz is crazy enough, I didn't expect for my parents to go full out crazy with the room. But it had it's perked, a nice television, big bathroom, and a mini fridge, which I remember was off limits since my parents said it'll cost them more than it did the room.

I stare up at the ceiling and sigh to myself. The next week and a half is going to be lonesome all by myself. But the staff here seems nice and they said if I needed anything all I had to do was call. I feel a rumble in my back pocket. I readjust myself so that I can grab my phone and now I'm laying on my stomach staring at a text message.

_Hey, how's everything? Hope you're not too sad after saying goodbye to everyone. Anyway, what are you doing today?_

I giggle to myself as I finished reading the text message. I got all the guys' numbers on my phone now since Kendall was so kind to distribute it. I stare at the text illuminating my screen and ponder for a moment. I didn't have anything planned, not to mention I haven't seen the guys since the party last Monday, and it was Sunday, almost a full week. I click on the reply button and type,

_Hey, I'm okay, sort of lonely, but I'm guessing if I say no to your last question that you're going to change that._

It doesn't take very long to get a cheerful reply from Carlos.

_Awesome! Wanna come meet up at the studios? We're going over the plans for the music video._

Oh yeah! I totally forgot, since I 'won' the contest, I get to be in their music video.

_All right, I'll take a cab to Rocque Records right now._ I send as I hop off my bed and change into something else. I was in sweats before when I said goodbye to my buds. So I decided to throw on some bleached stained jeans, converse, and a nice top. Why not dress to impress when meeting hot shot producers, right? I get another rumbling feeling on my backside as I receive another text. I get my phone out and click the button to see the screen.

_No need, you're staying at the Ritz right?_ Carlos texted me back. I raise an eyebrow at how he remembered that and before I could even begin to question his motives I hear a knock on the door. I turn to the door and look back at the text message.

"No way…" I mumble to myself as I head towards the door. I open it up and Voila! I'm greeted with four boys standing by the door.

"Surprise!" They chime.

"No need to call a stinky cab now." Carlos says as I give them a round of hugs.

"Oh come on, not all cabs are stinky…" I say as I let go of Carlos, who was last in line on the line of hugs. I let go and they're giving me a look of disbelief. "Okay maybe they are. But anyway thanks for coming to pick me us. Isn't the Ritz really out of the way though?" I ask feeling slightly guilty and slightly special they made the trip out here to get me.

"Well, it wasn't _too_ out of the way…" James explains.

"And besides, we found ways to entertain ourselves." Kendall says smirking as he and the boys did the same.

"What do you mean by that?" I question obviously not getting what they were implying with their little smirks.

"You'll see." Logan says as he leans in slightly.

"Okay then…" I say with a raised eyebrow.

"So you ready or not?" Carlos asks.

"Yeah let me just grab my bag and we'll hit the road." I say as I go back into my room and flop onto my bed and grab the bag that was sitting on the nightstand. I sit up only to be tackled by four boys rushing to my bed. They pile on the bed and I'm squished between Carlos and Logan.

"What was that for?"

"You made it look so much fun we wanted to try it!" Carlos says cheerfully as he starts bouncing in his lying down position making the bed rock. I laugh at his childish behavior and I pull myself out of the way as the boys then proceed to get up and test the bed's bounciness.

"You guys, stop it! You're going to break it!"

"Are you calling us fat?" James asked very hurt and insulted as he and the other boys stop bouncing.

"No, but I think the bed can only hold two people and you're doubling the amount of weight."

"Relax, we're professionals at bed jumping." Kendall says as he and boys continue to bounce but then there's a loud crack heard from underneath them and they stop and freeze in spot but then they all fall down on top of each other as the bed underbelly caves in and the bed breaks. Once the boys stop whining, I step forward and start helping them out of their predicament.

"Great, now that's coming straight out of my wallet. How am I going to explain this to my parents when they see the bill?"

"We'll pay for it." Logan suggests.

"Oh yeah, and with who's money?"

"Ours together of course."

"Right, like you knuckle heads have enough money to pay for a broken bed."

"Well, let's see." Kendall says as he and the boys dig through their jean pockets and pull out their wallets. They put everything on the other bed that was in my room and once they're done they count everything up.

"Okay, so we have, $87 dollars." Logan says.

"Really? That's it? Ay…"

"Oh come on we're sorry." James says.

"I'm not mad you guys, I mean I got a kick out of seeing the look on your faces when you all went tumbling down, so that's payment enough."

"Really?" Carlos says shocked.

"Yeah, not to mention I filmed the whole thing."

"WHAT?" They exclaim.

"I knew eventually if I didn't stop you, you guys would break the bed, so I decided to take the advantage of the situation."

"You're evil you know that?" Kendall says.

"Aw, why thank you." I say pretending to be modest about it. "Now, I'll call maid service or whatever to check this out and then I think we should move before they get here, how's that sound?"

"Okay." They say together.

"Thanks." Kendall says. I turn to look at him and smile at him along with the rest of the boys as I pick up the phone and hit the button to call the main desk. After I make the call, I hang up and grab my purse, which ended up on the floor when the guys decided to jump me.

"Okay, let's go." I say as the all get up from their seats on the second bed, which thankfully didn't break and we head towards the door. The sound of another crack fills the room. I'm afraid to turn around but I do anyway and see the second bed now, collapsed, just like it's double.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me?" I exclaim as I turn around to face the boys who refuse to make eye contact with me. "Ugh, come on." I say as I push past them and open the door, remembering to put the keycard on the stand next the door in my wallet that I stuff in my back pocket. We walk through the door and we see heading out way is some maintenance guys.

"Are you heading to room 411?" I question the two men.

"Yeah, yeah we are." One replies sounding uneasy.

"Well, good luck guys." I say patting one on the shoulder as I walk past them, with the guys not far behind me as we disappear into the elevator as the last sound we hear is

"Holy Sh-" and the door close on us so everything is muffled. The guys and I immediately break down in laughter. We break down so hard that we don't even notice when the elevator opens on the second floor and the people were going to enter but look at us and think twice and let the door close on them.

We step out of the elevator, finally a bit more together than we were before, and we head out of the hotel and I'm stargazed by the sight in front of me.

"Is that _ours_?" I ask astonished.

"Yup." James says popping the P

"You like it?" Kendall asks.

"And we get to ride in it?" I say gripping his arm like a little would when they're excited, completely ignoring his question as he laughs at my excitement.

"Actually we were going to tell you that we have to strap you on to the roof." I give Logan a funny look and then Carlos comes in and says,

"He's joking! Now come on, you have to check out the sound system, it rocks!"

"This is a dream come true!" I squeal as I run to the huge white limousine.

"Have you never been in a limo before?" James asks me as he holds open the door for me.

"Never…" I say looking at him embarrassed.

"Well," James says. "Then we have to make this an extra special ride then."

"Okay!" I say excitedly as I duck into the limo. I look around and it's the sickest thing ever. "Wow, it's just like on TV!"

"Yeah, but we got it better." Carlos says as he slides in next to me.

"You mean there's more than just the looks?" I say shocked. How could this amazing vehicle possibly have more than what it already has?

"Oh yeah, check this out!" Carlos says as he grabs a remote from the side of the limo and holds in front of him and clicks a button. Something rolls down from the side of the limo and it's a flat screen TV.

"NO, WAY!" I say excitedly.

"I know right? It's so cool! And there's a game console." Carlos says holding out a remote control, which I gladly take.

"There's a mini bar." James says as he opens up a fridge.

"A soda fountain." Logan says grabbing the nozzle and a cup to pour me a beverage. I take the cup saying thanks and take a sip; it was Mountain Dew, yummy.

"And, here's the best part." Kendall says as he presses a button on an armrest in the car and I feel a tingly sensation rush over my body and my muscles relax.

"Ah…" I say as I relax into my seat more. "I love massage chairs." I said as my voice sounds weird since my body is vibrating.

"Well sit back and relax and enjoy the ride, we'll be there in a little under an hour." Logan says.

"Oh I will." I say as I take another shaky sip of my Mountain Dew and relax in my chair. I sigh at how relaxing the ride is and I even end up falling asleep not too far into the ride.

What eventually wakes me up is the quick halt that the driver took when we stopped in front of Rocque Records and I ended up falling and landing in Kendall's lap. I jolt awake after that and look around until my face is less than three inches away from Kendall's face. I immediately blush and say sorry.

"It's okay." He says sounding like he was happy but also keeping a chuckle down, probably because I was probably bright red. I get off of his lap and shimmy my way across the seats and out of the limo, almost hitting my head; I didn't need to be any more dazed than I was already with hitting my head. I stand out of the car and shade my eyes with my hand, the LA sun beating down, and stupid turquoise eyes being sensitive to the sun. My thoughts are interrupted by Kendall's voice coming from behind me.

"As much as I love enjoying looking at your butt, I don't think I asked for a close up of it."

"Oh sorry." I say embarrassed again as I step out of the way. He gets up and stretches his back, probably aching from being cramped in the limo for so long.

"Thanks." He says as he smirks at me. I glare at him and slap his stomach playfully and keep walking. "What was that for?"

"For embarrassing me."

"What did I do?"

"Oh you know what you did…" I say turning back and putting one hand on my hip.

"What, about your butt?" Kendall says a little louder than necessary and the rest of the guys I can hear stopped walking and are probably watching Kendall and I talk, but I didn't want to know that for sure by turning around. I go red again but try to hide it by looking away. "Oh come on," He says coming up to me to then lean over so he can whisper in my ear. "You have a cute little butt."

"Okay!" I exclaim loudly as I step away from him and he laughs at my reaction.

"Chill I'm just messing with you." he says as he casually throws his arm over my shoulders. I look up at him and ridge my eyebrow in his direction.

"Yeah, yeah." I say as I nudge him in the side and he lets go and I walk away from him and off to the front door. Logan, Carlos, and James are staring at me with smiles on their faces and let me go in first.

"You're all such gentlemen aren't you?"

"Yeah." They say in unison and I laugh as I enter the studios and get confronted by an older lady, who asks,

"Are you Amber Riordan?" The woman questions me as she looks up from the notepad she was carrying.

"Yup, that's me." I say confidently.

"Good, I'm Kelly and I'm the assistant to Big Time Rush's producer." She says extending her hand.

"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you Kelly." I say as I take her extended hand and shake it.

"Now, let's take you and the boys to the conference room so we can discuss what's going on with the music video."

"Sounds good to me. Lead the way." I say as I follow her into an elevator along with the guys up to the conference room. We enter the room and immediately our ears are filled with people yelling and arguing over pointless things. Kelly from behind me yells and that gets everyone's attention.

"What is going on in here?"

"What is going on is that I QUIT!" Says a man who was holding some paperwork of some sort who throws the paper on the ground angrily and makes a move towards where we were standing.

"You can't quit!" A fat man who looked like he had anger management issues yelled across the room at the guy heading towards the door.

"Oh yeah, try and stop me!" He says as he pushes me, along with everyone else trailing behind me, aside as he leaves the room. I turn around and see the man who was yelling at the guy who left was shaking with frustration and built up anger. Kelly rushes over to him and gets him to calm down by giving him a bag to blow some air into. He finally calms down and looks up and stares right at me and then at the boys behind me.

"Uh, who is this and why is she here?" The man asked rather loudly.

"Gustavo," Kendall says stepping out from behind me to stand next to me protectively, like he was guarding me from the man, Gustavo's, built up anger. "This is Amber, she's the girl who won the contest."

"So?" He asks bluntly.

"And is going to be in our music video." Carlos says stepping forward along with Logan and James.

"Oh yeah." He says more calmly this time. "So, Amber was it?" I nod my head yes as he makes his way over here. "I'm, Gustavo Rocque, the producer and owner of Big Time Rush; but of course you probably already knew that." He says as he picks up a mug and starts casually sipping from it.

"Nope, never heard of you." I say not recalling ever hearing his name. Gustavo's cup shatters to pieces in his hands as I can see him starting to head back to that state of frustration he was in.

"You see…" Carlos gets the courage to step up to the plate and go up against Gustavo, who had the boys quaking in their shoes.

"She doesn't, or well now didn't, know who we were when she entered the contest." James takes up behind Carlos to explain everything.

"And that, in itself, involves a much longer story we don't need to get into, or have time for, right now." Logan finishes for James.

"Okay, okay." Gustavo says wiping his hands clean of the beverage, probably coffee, that was in his cup off his hands. "Let's just, get started on working on the music video."

"How can we?" Came a voice from behind Gustavo. Sitting at the table were people dressed in suits. "The director of the music video just quit on us." OH, so that was the guy that walked out.

"WE don't need him, I can film the video myself."

"You can?"

"Don't you need a license for that sort of thing?"

"Look who's pretending to be smart and know everything about the music business."

"Well actually I do know a lot about it since I was on a summer program dedicated to the life of a celebrity and what you need to know to make in the 'Big Leagues' and I met a friend on the program who wanted to be a director who is now certified to do just that."

"Well…if you have any better ideas as to what we can do without a real director, then I'm going to direct it!"

"How about I just call up my friend? He lives, maybe an hour, tops, away from here?" I ask myself. He was one of the two boys that actually lived in LA that was on the trip.

"Oh, so you're think you're some kind of, problem solver, now don't you?"

"Uh, no, but if I can help I am willing to." Gustavo gives me a look from under his sunglasses that then gives me a nervous feeling. "Or not…" I breathe out slowly.

"Gustavo." A man with gray hair stands up from his seat at the head of the table along with two big men behind him stand up as well. "If you can't find a director for this music video, then I'm pulling the plug on the whole thing. And I like this girl, she's full of spunk, attitude, what's your name again?"

"Amber, Amber Riordan." I say as I give a slight wave.

"Hm, change your name and maybe I'll remember it better." He says.

"Uhm, how about Amber Riley?" I suggest since Riley's my middle name.

"Much better, you sound more important now." He says as he shakes his head in approval as his bodyguards give me two thumbs up. I smile back at them although on the inside I feel rather weird.

"Now, Gustavo, either listen to Ms. Amber Riley, or say goodbye to your opportunity to spiral up to fame."

"I was never NOT listening to her, Griff." Gustavo says in a higher voice than usual that caught me off guard. "I was just questioning if her friend would be suitable and available right when we need him." He turns around and smiles at me creepily, definitely forced.

"Good, and call me 'Griff' again and I'll hire a monkey to take your place as producer. Now I need a new fresh pair of pants, I'm feeling chilly."

"Have a good day Mr. Griffin." Kelly shouts pointlessly out the door, which he and his bodyguards left out of.

"Oh and by the way, I need the video done by the end of next week."

"What?" We all shout at him but it was pointless as well as he quickly makes a getaway so there wasn't any room for fighting back.

"Great. Cut short again." James complains from behind me.

"Geez who is that guy?" I say feeling rather safe to ask questions now. not because that guy, Mr. Griffin or whatever, wasn't around, just the fact that his bodyguards weren't around, they were _scary_ big.

"That's our boss, as well as Gustavo's. He's…" Logan tries phrasing but he just couldn't pick a nice or good word to describe him with.

"Intimidating?" I suggest.

"Yeah…" The guys say at once along with Gustavo and Kelly as well.

"So I see." I say as I sigh in frustration. This week was going to be fun.

"Alright, now that everything is worked out, sort of," Kelly says unsure. "Let's get to work on the music video. Amber, do you think you can call your friend and have him come here so we can discuss."

"Sure, God is he going to be in for a shock." I say as I leave the room to call up Cliff. He was crazy in love with directing films and coming up with new ideas. And by the looks of it, we could really use his input on what's going on.

It takes a while but I finally get through to him, I told him what was going down and that we needed his help and I'm pretty sure he was jumping up and down like a little girl. He was honored and said he'd be here as soon as he could.

"Alright," I say as I walk back into the conference room while putting my phone away. "Cliff said he'd do it."

"Good, now we need an idea, because the director, was also the idea guy, the one who was going to imagine up the whole music video for us." Gustavo says.

"Well, let's get some ideas down." Kelly suggests. We sit there thinking for a bit, it's an eerie silence and I can almost head the gears turning in other people's heads.

"I got it!" Carlos says excitedly.

"If it involves a monkey on a unicycle juggling, then no." Kendall sighs.

"Darn it!" Carlos says rather upset as he pouts in his swivel chair.

"I got it. How about we play it out just the way Amber experienced it." Kelly suggests.

"What do you mean?" Gustavo asks.

"What about me?" I ask concerned why I was being brought up in the conversation so quickly.

"Well you said you didn't know who Big Time Rush was," Kelly explains but is cut off.

"OR me!" Gustavo remarks.

"Right, or Gustavo, how about the music video shows you finding out about them but you don't like them and then the more you listen the more you like it and become a fan, or something like that."

"I like that!" James says excitedly from behind.

"Wait, but what's the song they're singing?" I ask curiously.

"We're doing the music video to Famous." Logan says.

"Oh right, that song you sung at…" I start saying as I remember them performing at the club but the guys give me looks that say I shouldn't say what happened that night. But since I start I just improvise, "You sung to me when I asked you to." Gustavo and Kelly ridge their eyebrows but I ignore them and pretend like that was nothing but the truth.

"But, what does that have to do with the song? The song's meaning should have to do with how the music video is produced."

"Right, like the meaning has to do with music videos these days." Gustavo says laughing at the comment I made.

"Well if you want people to really understand and relate to the band more than it should." I state with my arms crossed.

"Alright, how about you let the creative people get to work and you and the dogs can just go to the rehearsing studio and wait for us or something." I get frustrated at his remark and start to get up and leave but Gustavo's voice has me turn around when he adds, "Or actually, can you be more useful and get me a coffee?" I want to go back to him and punch him in the face and it is clearly shown on my face that I do, but the guys get up from their seats quickly and push me back as they push me through the door and close the door behind him.

"Ugh can you believe him!" I yell as I throw my arms up in the air. "How do you put up with, with, _that_, everyday?"

"We've gotten used to it by now." Kendall says.

"Well I don't see how that's even possible. He's so infuriating." I sigh.

"You know what, how about we take your mind off of him and show you around the studio." James suggests.

"Yeah, there's some really cool stuff here!" Carlos says as he puts an arm around me and gives me a goofy grin. I can't help but smile back as I put my arm around him and say,

"Alright, show me what this place has to offer." I sigh as he leads the way with the boys behind him.

"So here is where we dance and get taught new choreography by our choreographer, X." Kendall explains as we enter a dance room.

"X?" I ask.

"Yeah well that's what we call him, and he has x-issues." Logan says as he crosses his hands in the shape of an "X".

"So he does that a lot?" I ask as I imitate what Logan just did.

"Yup." James says.

"Wow, well I guess that's Hollywood for you."

"It sure is." Kendall sighs. I laugh lightheartedly as we move on to another room, probably my favorite room.

"Cool, so this is where you guys record?" I say as I move towards the panel that controls how a person sounds when they're singing.

"Yeah, we spend a good amount of time in here." James says from behind me as I still look around the room and the peer my head through the glass at the room where the music actually get played in.

"Mind if I just venture in there?" I almost beg.

"Sure, you're welcome to do as you please." Carlos muses.

"As long as you don't break anything." Logan warns.

"I'll try not to." I say as I laugh while opening the door to look at the instruments lined along the sides of the wall. I walk along the instruments for a bit until my eyes land on a guitar that reminds me of the one I have at home. I go over to it and I pick it up and gingerly put the strap on my shoulders. I mess around with a few chords until I get lost in what I'm playing as I remember a song I wrote once.

I start humming along to the tune when I get startled when I turn around as I'm playing and the guys are just watching me.

"Sorry." I say as I start to take the guitar off my shoulders but Kendall comes up and stops me.

"No, you're good, what song was that?" Kendall asked.

"Yeah it was really catchy." Carlos adds.

"I, uh, actually made it up." I confess.

"You did, just now?" Logan asks shocked.

"No, I made it up a while ago." I recall.

"Very cool, you're more talented than we thought." James says and I blush slight at the compliment.

"Thanks. But I have a long, LONG, way to go." I admit.

"Maybe not." Kendall says as he gets an idea. He leaves the room with the boys following after him and he closes the door behind him. He goes over to the controls and pushes a button and I can hear his voice now.

"Do you wanna try just playing a little something?" He asks.

"You sure I'm allowed to do this?" I ask suspiciously.

"Probably not." Logan says as he takes the mike.

"But we won't tell if you won't." James says afterwards.

"Well alright then." I shrug off as I readjust the guitar.

"Kay, whenever you're ready." I nod at him, signaling I'm ready and he pushes a button that lights up a light on the inside of the room I'm in and I start strumming on the guitar until the lyrics I made up long way back come in.

Believe, it's worth saving

And to get lost, lost in a day dream

So why hesitate, take me to another place

So far, far away, so I can get out of the dark

High speed, like I'm racing

Just like lightning, sky is blazing

But you've lost your way, you've been lead astray

Are there better days for my fallen dreamer

Calling a dreamer

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

Calling a dreamer

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

You don't believe no more

(You don't even sleep no more)

Dream no more

(You don't even dream no more)

Dreamer

(Dreamer)

Why don't you just dream again?

Believe in you

You got something to prove

You're a star, watch you shine bright

On your way to the limelight, finish line

The sweat and tears

You can channel all of your fears

Open your eyes, your eyes

Indeed it will be all right

All of a sudden, one by one, the guys enter the booth I was singing in and they start doing background stuff that flowed perfectly with the song. So without hesitating I let them join in and keep it going.

Calling a dreamer

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

Calling a dreamer

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

You don't believe no more

(You don't even sleep no more)

Dream no more

(You don't even dream no more)

Dreamer

(Dreamer)

Why don't you just dream again?

This the part of the song that I always had trouble with by myself. It was always a little weird to sing, but now that Big Time Rush, my newly found friends are here, they can definitely help it sound better. So we start of quietly harmonizing and then as the lines keep repeating we get louder.

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer

Finally when we're at our peak of the last line and in volume, we spring right back into the chorus and the guys are just going along with so well it was unreal.

Calling a dreamer

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

Calling a dreamer

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

(A dreamer, a, a, a, a dreamer)

You don't believe no more

(You don't even sleep no more)

Dream no more

(You don't even dream no more)

Dreamer

(Dreamer)

Why don't you just dream again?

Once I finished strumming the last notes of the song, the guys came up to me and gave me a big hug.

"Wow, and you wrote that yourself?"

"Yeah, well I had some help from my dad, since he's an author and he said what I wanted to write was almost like a story."

"Well it definitely was like a story, how did you get inspired to write that?"

"Well I wrote the song for Tess actually, to lift her spirits up a bit."

"Can we ask why?"

"Sure, I don't think it's really a private matter. You see she sprained her knee from dancing one day and so she was on crutches for a while. But after she got off her crutches, she was just really nervous to really do any kind of dance again, and she had a recital coming up, so she was under a lot of pressure from her parents, her coach, and herself adding more pressure.

"And so I hated seeing her like that, and also having her give up on a dream that she loved was just something as a best friend I couldn't let happen. So I wrote this song to help her feel better and she did, and she danced and her knee supported her throughout the whole recital."

"Wow, to be able to do that is real talent."

"And I couldn't agree more." Came a booming voice from behind me. I turned around and saw Gustavo and Kelly standing behind the glass window. Kelly was smiling and Gustavo, well he didn't look angry and he didn't look pleased either but it was change that was positive.

"You have a talent, something that you can really use to pursue a career with." Gustavo says as Kelly opens the door and he walks into the booth. "I mean you have your work cut out for you, but you'll get there, it's just a matter of time."

"You think so?" I say baffled by his kind words.

"I mean if I could I would sign you myself, but I'm too preoccupied with the dogs to take on another challenge.

"But who knows, maybe in the future when the dogs aren't as big of a pain as they are now, although they'll probably always be dogs, maybe, just maybe, I'll remember you and give you a chance."

"Wow, thank you, and I mean it. Thank you." I say feeling rather honored.

"Oh there's no room for that nice stuff in the 'Big Leagues', now your friend Clifford."

"It's actually just Cliff." I say, also I wanted to clarify that because Cliff gets really mad when people think that's just his nickname. He even brought a copy of his birth certificate on the trip I remember in the first week just to prove it.

"Whatever." Gustavo huffs.

"He's here and ready to get to work on some ideas he came up on the way over here." Kelly says.

"Just like him to be getting ideas." I sigh as I put my hands on my hips.

"Now put down the guitar and let's get a move on." Gustavo orders.

"Sure thing." I say pleased with how today was turning for the better. I take the guitar off my shoulders and rest it back on the stand and follow the boys out of the studio and back to the conference room.

"Hey Cliff." I say as I see him standing at the far end of the room. I go over to him and I take his hand and do a little hand shake with him and give him a bro hug (is that what it's called?), if you looked at him, he doesn't look like he would want to direct films or in this case music videos because he looks like such a bro.

"How it's hanging?" He asks as we part.

"Nothing much has changed since I last saw you this morning. Sorry for having to make you drive out here, you've probably have had enough hanging around the same area, right?"

"Nah, it's a'yte. As long as I get some filming done that's fine, it looks betta on the college write ups." He says and we laugh. I hear a slight cough from the other side of the room and see the boys along with Gustavo and Kelly standing there.

"Oh, I'm being awfully rude. Cliff, this is Gustavo Rocque, his assistant Kelly, and these are the boys of Big Time Rush."

"What's up?" He says as he goes over and gives everyone a shake.

"So what are these great ideas I was hearing so much about?" I say as I make my way over to where he is with everyone.

"Well actually my own _assistants _helped me out on the ride over here." He says smirking a bit, boasting as always.

"You have assistants?" I asked. That was not to my knowledge.

"As of today, yes. Yo sis! Bring 'em out!" He says as he calls out to whomever it was outside in the hallway.

"Lydia's here?" I said smiling. I didn't get to say goodbye to her this morning, just last night. So I was excited to see her walk through the door. There walking through the door was Lydia, and behind her were two other people, two awfully _familiar _people, who walk into the room.

"OMG! Tess? Nick? AH!" I scream as I rush over to them, shoving anyone out of my way back as I run and give them a huge chocking hug.

"Nice to see you too!" Tess says struggling under my grasp.

"What are you doing here?" I ask letting go of them. "I saw you guys leave on the plane earlier today, and Lydia I thought you so excited to get home?"

"Well we tricked you." Tess teased.

"We weren't ever going home. We just got on the tube heading into the plane and waited 'til you were out of sight to get off and head over to Lydia and Cliff's house."

"They were upset and slightly worried how you were going to be all by yourself for the next few weeks until your family got here, so they called their parents and they all said it was okay for them to stay with us until your parents at least got here or even come home with you and your family." Lydia finished explaining.

"Really? Is that why you guys did this?" I say almost feeling like crying over how sweet my friends were being.

"NO actually we just wanted to hit more of the clubs." Nick says sarcastically.

"Of course we did this for you!" Tess exclaims.

"Aw, you guys…" I say as I give the two of them huge hugs. "You rock, or did you not know that already?"

"No we did." And we all laugh.

"And thank you Lydia and Cliff for letting them stick with you guys." I say as I look to Lydia and back at Cliff.

"No problem-O." Lydia says as I give her a quick hug.

"Alright enough of this!" Tess says. "You're killing me with the sweetness, we get it, we're awesome, not to boast or anything. Now let's introduce you to our awesome idea for the music video."

"Finally! Someone who gets to the point around here!" Gustavo cheers as we all take our seats around the conference table, well everyone except for my four buds who were standing up in front to present their ideas.

"Well, we got our ideas from listening to the song repeatedly in the car on the way here. So what we have so far are three options. But first we wanted to know for sure how big of a role Amber will be playing in the music video." Cliff wonders.

"As if she's a major role." Kelly explains.

"Alright, good, that's what we thought, so our ideas work. Phew." Nick sighs.

"Okay." Tess starts as she takes over the conversation. "So One option involves our sweet little Amber wanting to try to make it big in Hollywood but she's just not getting there yet because something is preventing her. Like parents or something and so the song would be expressing what she was feeling inside about her dreams of being famous and what she wants.

"Our second idea," Lydia takes over now to explain the second option, "is basically having Amber hear about the band and has to check it out or something by simply going to one of your guys' concerts and although she didn't want to go in the first place because she doesn't know you, she's blown away by the meaning in your music and how good you guys are."

"Our last and final option," Nick takes the lead in leading the discussion. "Is one that's like a dream, it starts off with Amber listening to band's music, preferably this song, late one night but it gets to the point when it's so late she just crashes and goes to sleep and has a dream about her being famous and the guys are there in her dream singing about it as she rises to stardom but then at the end of the song she wakes up and is inspired to follow her dream."

"Hm, interesting ideas. All very doable." Gustavo muses as he's thinking deeply about both of the options that were presented.

"Especially doable with me directing it." Cliff boasts. Both Tess and Lydia who were next to him slap his chest, which I give two thumbs up to since he really needs to learn to stop boasting.

"I like the second one." Kelly muses.

"Yeah, of course you do, it's the one that relates to what you thought of." Gustavo sighs.

"Yeah well I think if two people thought it up then it must be good." Kelly retorts, and I guess that did make sense.

"I honestly like the third one." I pipe up.

"Yes!" Nick says. Obviously since he brought up the idea he's happy that I like it.

"Now don't get a big head too Nick." I say as I wave a finger at him. "I think it would be interesting and meaningful, just the way I suggested it before, because it shows that in a way that the guys' music can be inspiring to other people and have their dreams come true and more people will probably be willing to buy it."

"And it involves you the most right?" Tess teases.

"No, that's not why…I mean I'm honored I even get a spot in the music video but I always get a little nervous in front of cameras."

"Honestly?" James says.

"You seemed so natural when you were performing in front of us today." Carlos states. I smile at him and was going to say my excuse but then someone from the front speaks up.

"You sang and we missed it?" Lydia whines.

"Sorry, but I would've sang to you if I knew you guys were even here."

"True, true." Tess says.

"So, what are we going to do? Option 1, 2, or 3?" Cliff speaks up getting everyone to focus back on what mattered.

"I would have to agree with Amber on this one."

"You are?" I ask shocked.

"You do?" The guys ask together along with Kelly. My friends give me quizzical looks but I ignore it for now.

"Yeah, I feel like if the video shows people can be inspired by it, then it will indeed sell more. So we should go with that one." Gustavo summarizes.

"You all in on it?" Kelly asks, now directing the band.

"Sure!" The guys say in unison.

"Alright! We have our idea!" Cliff says as he takes out a pad of paper and pen and checks something off.

"What's that?" Kelly asks him.

"Oh, this is a list of everything we have to do for the video. And the first thing on my list was 'Come up with a good idea'. And we have accomplished that, so it gets a check." He says happily.

"I like a guy who's organized and has everything figured out." Gustavo says. "Good, work." He says as he gets up and shakes hands with Cliff. I look back at the guys because their faces just look like they're about to fall off. They were so shocked; I guess I would've been more shocked if I knew Gustavo long enough.

"Alright, we'll get the equipment and everything we need by tomorrow. For now, let's wrap this up, Cliff I want to talk more about what your vision is on the video. Everyone else, scatter!" He says as he waves his hands out in front of him, excusing us from the conference room. Without another word said, we all get out of our chairs and leave the room to have Cliff, Gustavo and Kelly talk things out.

I turn around when I see my buds leave the room and tackle them again in a hug.

"I still can't believe that you're actually here."

"Well that's just the kind of friend we are, you can't shake us off that easily."

"And oh don't I know it!"

"Hey, so now what do we do?"

"Well we were going to head over to the Palm Woods." Kendall says.

"What's that?" I ask curiously. Sounded tropical and interesting.

"It's where we live." Logan explains.

"Along with everyone else who wants to make it here in Hollywood." James adds on.

"Sounds cool, let's check it out." I say.

"Hey, you guys wanna come along too?" Carlos asks my friends; so nice of Carlos to include my friends on the plans.

"Sure, how far is it?" Lydia asks.

"Only about five minutes." Kendall says.

"Sound alright with me." Tess says happily.

"I'm down for that." Nick agrees.

"Cool beans. Let's get a move on." Kendall says as everyone starts following his lead.

"What about my bro?" Lydia asks as she stops mid walk.

"What about your bro?" Came Cliff's voice as he pops out of nowhere.

"Oh there you are, we were going to head over to where Big Time Rush lives, wanna come along?" She asks hopefully.

"Sounds fun, is there a pool?" He asks the guys.

"Of course, the best one actually." James says.

"Well I'm won over, let's go!" He cheers. We all leave Rocque Records excited and we pile into the limo once again, although Cliff is left out because he had to drive the car he brought here to the Palm Woods unless he didn't want a way back home.

So we arrived in our fancy limo in front of a cool looking hotel with the name "Palm Woods" decorating the front. We all squeeze out of the limo and it drives off to who knows where.

"So far so good." I say looking around.

"Wait 'til you see our awesome pad." James says.

"But first, to the pool!" Cliff says as he runs up to where we are and was close enough to hear what we were saying. We all cheer as the guys lead the way into the hotel. We enter a pretty crowded hallway and then we turn right and we're again outside as we see people walking around the fresh smell of chlorine enters the air. We look past the guys, and when they notice they step out of the way to reveal the pool.

"Cool!" I say. It looked awesome. And they could do to the pool everyday.

"Awesome, we should go for a swim." Tess says.

"In our clothes?" Nick questions her.

"NO silly, I'm not ruining my new top." She says like it was obvious. "I still have my stuff in the car and I brought bathing suits just in case we were going to the beach at any point."

"Can I borrow?" Lydia and I ask at the same time, which after we ask we smile and laugh at each other jokingly.

"Of course. Do you guys mind if we do?"

"Well we don't have to go back to the studios, so sure, why not." Kendall declares.

"Do you and Cliff wanna borrow trunks from us?" Logan directs the question towards Nick.

"You sure?" Nick asks.

"Yeah no probs." James says casually.

"Thanks bro." Cliff says doing a little handshake with James.

"Okay, see you guys in a bit." Carlos says.

"Cliff, can I have your car keys so we can get Tess' stuff?" Lydia asks her bro.

"Sure thing baby sis." Cliff says tossing his keys towards Lydia who catches them without difficulty.

"I'm not a baby, we're twins." Lydia points out. Although they look nothing alike, they are indeed twins.

"Yeah but who's the older one?" He says smirking.

"Only by two minutes, and that's only because you were shoving." Lydia complains.

"Was not!" Cliff argues.

"Was to!" Lydia retorts.

"Okay, enough! We don't really want to hear about that stuff. Lets just meet back here in ten." I say breaking the two of them up.

"Kay." Everyone agrees and we all go our separate ways. Me and the girls go out to the front of the hotel back to Cliff's car and got swim suits to wear from Tess' suitcase and we headed back to the hotel to find a bathroom on the ground floor and use it to change. We all just shared one bathroom since it was one of those bathroom that only have one toilet. So we all went in and changed and stuff all our excess clothes into the bag Tess brought with her. I was wearing a purple bikini with a green towel dress on top of it.

"Wait, isn't that my bathing suit?" I say as I turn around to see Tess all done getting changed. She was wearing a bright yellow bikini that complimented her cocoa butter skin tone.

"Is it?" She asks looking down at herself before she was going to put on a green romper.

"Hold on." I say as I turn Tess around and check the tag on the inside of the top part, and indeed it has the initials "AR" written in black sharpie. "Yup that's mine."

"Do you mind if I wear it?" She asks innocently.

"No, not as long as I eventually get it back that is." I say.

"Deal." She says holding her hand out for me to shake, which I do.

"You guys ready now?" Lydia asks. She decided to take a navy colored bikini from Tess with white polka dots.

"We sure are." I say. She puts a long baggy shirt over her body and we all leave the bathroom. We walk through the lobby again and turn left this time to enter the pool area. We see six shirtless guys in front of us talking amongst themselves and we immediately knew that those were our friends.

"Hey guys." We say as we approach from behind. They turn around casually and then they sort of put on a shocked/pleasant expression.

"H-hi." They all stutter. We girls giggle at their behavior.

"You ready to swim or just stand there all day?" Tess asks.

"We were waiting for you guys."

"Well we're here now, let's go." Lydia says as she removes her top and immediately runs past us and cannonballs into the pool. It splashes up at us and Tess runs behind me as I take the splatter of water that was coming our way, it was cold but I was excited to escape the heat of the sun I didn't mind it too much.

"Typical Lydia, always ready to take the first plunge, literally." I said as I first meant it in figurative terms but then realized it was also in physical terms I meant it too. And what she did just proved that.

Tess and I then remove our cover up and take each other hands and run for the pool. Except I was the only one to end up in the pool and I land quite sloppily in the water. I resurface from the icy water and I could hear several people, Lydia in particular, laughing on my jump. I rub my eyes and look up at her as she smiles at me and then pencil drops into the pool and next to me.

"Thanks for leaving me hanging Tess!" I say as I playfully splash her with water.

"What, you're surprised?" Tess asked jokingly.

"Not really, but I thought you were actually going to jump in with me this one time."

"I don't change that quickly." She says as she can't keep the smile off her lips.

"I guess not." I say as we both laugh at how true that was. Then we're interrupted when a group of voices start yelling out battle cries almost and bodies fly over where we were near the wall and splash into the pool, obviously completely drenching us. Then again we're splashed when another group of people jump into the people. The first people to resurface were Big Time Rush and then Nick and Cliff I guess jumped in together. Lydia, Tess, and I were obviously annoyed that we all now had chlorine stinging our eyes.

"Thanks you guys for temporarily blinding us." I say as I continue to rub my eyes, although that seems to make it worse.

"Yeah, so unnecessary!" Lydia complains.

"You should've seen that coming." I hear Nick say from across the water. Once my vision clears up, slightly, I look over to both my sides and the three of us all have smirks playing on our lips now.

"I don't like that look." Cliff says.

"Same." Nick agrees in fear, which is what I wanted him to be.

"Why?" Carlos asks.

"That's their strategizing look." Nick warns.

"And?" The band asks in unison but they don't get an answer when the girls and I duck under the water and flip upside down. We let our feet out of the water and we start kicking water around. We do that for a while until we can't take the pressure under water anymore and we resurface. I love the look on my friend's faces, one's that were soaked and sad.

"Ha! Take that!" Tess says.

"That's what you get!" Lydia retorts as well.

"Oh, it's on." James says in an almost scary lower tone. That was the only cue needed for a full out splashing war to unleash between us. And although there was double the amount of people on the guy's team than the girl's team, we were still neck and neck and both sides weren't backing down. Well, that wasn't until a loud siren was sounded and killed our ears so badly we all couldn't help but stop and cover our ears.

Finally when it dies down, we look around to see where that noise could've possibly come from, our eyes all land on a chubby but tall man, soaked holding a slice of wet pizza in one hand and a bull horn in the other. He also happened to be wearing a pin that said "Manager". Uh oh.

"Everyone! Out! I have a strict no splashing policy, now you're suspended for the rest of the day." He says grumpily. We all groan and sigh sadly as our war won't have a victor. He walks away mumbling angrily under his tone and he almost falls on the spilt water on the floor. Once he leaves, we all look at each other and laugh and gather our stuff, put on our cover ups, and leave the pool, not seeing as we had a purpose there anymore since we couldn't swim.

"Well that was fun while it lasted." Carlos says.

"Yeah, but I say we won." Cliff says.

"OH no, we so creamed you guys." Lydia of course counters.

"How can you tell who won in a splashing war?" I wonder aloud.

"You have a point there." Kendall says.

"Oh well, we'll call it a draw." James says.

"Yeah, until next time." Tess warns and we all laugh as he all cram into a tight elevator. We go up two floors until the elevator dings and the band steps out, and of course since we had no idea where to go we follow suit and head down a hallway until the guys stop in front of a door marked 2J. They open the door and my friends and I are completely taken back by how awesome their crib looked.

"Is that what I think it is?" Tess asks.

"So you see the swirly slide too?" I ask.

"Anyone oddly tempted to go down it?" Lydia ask and both Tess and I nod our heads along with two more nods from surprising Nick and Cliff. We all smile at each other and we find the stairs to go up to the top of the slide. I'm the first one up there but before I go down I stop suddenly causing a back up and everyone to ram into me.

"It's okay that we go down this right?" I ask. I felt bad that we sort of just jumped at the opportunity and our inner kids just sort of took over.

"It won't break right?" Tess wonders from behind me.

"Well you might as well since you made the journey to go up there." Logan says smiling and the rest of the guys nod. We all smile and I slip down the slide and pop out at the bottom and fall on my bottom since I went down so quickly. I tried getting up from my spot but then get pushed back down to the ground when I find that Tess landed on top of me. Then I felt the weight increase as Lydia lands on me as well. Thankfully Nick and Cliff were smart enough to learn from Tess and Lydia's mistake.

"Any time you want to move…" I say as I gasp for air. I felt like my lungs were going to snap, or something else was definitely going to at least. Tess and Lydia get off of me slowly laughing at my fragile self on the ground and I get picked up and thrown over someone's shoulder. I look around and the only person I don't see looking at me and smiling/laughing at me is Kendall, so that's who I figured lifted me off the ground and was now setting me down on the brightly colored couch.

"Better?" He says dusting his hands off and putting his hands back at his side.

"Yeah, much actually." As I snuggle into the comfy sofa.

"Well as entertaining as all this has been, we gotta bounce."

"What why?"

"Mom texted me saying she wants everyone back for dinner, and it's an hour's drive and almost six."

"Aw man, you have to leave now?" I whine.

"Hey, we'll see you tomorrow no doubt to work more on the video." Lydia comes over and gives me a hug, which of course I return.

"Try not to miss us too much or have too much fun without us, kay?" She says as she makes her way over to me and then proceeds to tackle me in a hug.

"Kay, love you." I say back to her as she lets go and starts walking away.

"Love you too shawty." She says in a funny gangster accent that sounded oddly like an imitation of Cliff.

"I'm taller than you!" I retort.

"Yeah, yeah." She says laughing as she cheekily blows me a kiss. I laugh and pretend to catch it. She laughs back and Nick and Cliff wave a simple bye and everyone walks out the door and it closes behind them and it's quiet again.

"So, what do you guys do around here for fun?"

"Well, we watch TV, play hockey, play mini hockey," James says pointing over to the little stick controlled game with the plastic hockey players in a plastic dome.

"We also eat a lot, work on music, play video games," Kendall continues.

"Oo, what games you got?" I ask curiously as I sit up straight to face them.

"You play?" Logan asks surprised almost by my curiosity.

"Well I've learned, I have a ten year old brother who's an obsessed gamer and then I babysit boys a lot back home."

"All right, well let's go through our wonderful list of games." Carlos says cheerfully as he goes over to a rack I didn't notice before filled with games. "There's Call of Duty, Man of Warfare, Halo, Tomb Raider…"

"Okay, I'm not even going to ask why you have Tomb Raider, but I think we should definitely play Halo."

"Alright, you're on, but I have to warn you, I'm pretty beast at it."

"Well I've learned a couple tricks myself in the art of gaming."

"This should be interesting." Kendall says.

"I'll make the popcorn." Logan says as he heads over to where the kitchen is.

"What, the rest of you aren't going to play?" I ask curiously not wanting to leave any member of the band out.

"I'll play!" James says cheerfully as he grabs Carlos and I remotes as well as one for him.

"Kendall?" I ask.

"Nah, I'm good, I'm going to join Logan and sit on the sidelines and see what unravels."

"Alright, suit yourself, you're saving yourself from total embarrassment."

"You're quite the confident one aren't you?" Carlos asks.

"Oh yeah…Now, let's do this." I say as Carlos gets up and puts the disc in and we impatiently as it loads. Once we got the game loaded and level, Logan's popcorn was popped and ready for feasting as he and Kendall shared it and watched us play intensely.

After a good half hour, we were so into the game it was insane. We were doing a race; beat the clock sort of thing (I've never played Halo, so I don't know if that's right or not). James was in a close third with me slightly ahead of him as Carlos was flying by, I had to admit he did have game, but I wasn't through yet. I pull out my secret weapon I've been saving for the past five minutes and unleash my wrath on Carlos as he falls dangerously behind as I overtake him and beat the clock just in time for the console to say I was in first.

"How on EARTH did you learn how to do that?" Carlos asks completely astonished. James was too shocked to say anything as Logan and Kendall were still stuffing their faces.

"I know _way_ too many cheats to this game, I learned from the best nine and eleven year olds in Boston."

"God, I never thought I'd say this but I think I've finally met my match."

"And I think I'm in love." James says jokingly although I still feel embarrassed as my cheeks heat up and we all laugh, but two new people entering the room interrupt our laughter. One was an older woman, probably one of the guys' mom, they live with Kendall's mom right? And then a younger girl comes in playing a DS intently. She says hi to the guys and they say hi back and I decide to say hi too, just because I didn't want to be rude. That's when the girl decided to pause her game and look up and she looks directly at me.

"Okay, who found a new girlfriend?"

"I did!" James says jokingly. "And I'm going to marry her since she's the queen of Halo." He says jokingly as he kisses the top of my head. I shrug him off and laugh awkwardly.

"Now that he's done lying." I say as I turn back to the girl that entered the room. "I'm Amber, Amber Riordan."

"Oh so _you're_ Amber." The girl says crossing her arms and nodding her head.

"Wait, you've heard of me?" I ask curiously.

"Oh yeah, you have been a main topic over the past week." She admits casually, like it was obvious.

"Have I?" I question as turn around and stare at the guys. They sort of just look away innocently.

"Well, maybe we brought you up a, few times." Kendall confessed.

"A _few_?" The younger girls questions rhetorically.

"Katie…" Kendall groans.

"Whatever, I'm Kendall's sister Katie by the way." Katie says coming up to me and I take out my hand she shakes it. "By any chance is your dad the famous book author?"

"Yes, yes he is." I state as a matter of fact.

"And is he visiting any time soon?" She says hopefully.

"Yeah, he's coming up for a while in a little less than two weeks time. I'm guessing you're a fan?" I question already knowing the answer.

"Don't get her started." I hear Kendall say from behind me.

"If she's not playing her DS, she's catching up on his books so she's up to date when the new one comes out." James says. Gosh they all have been together probably for such a long time that they all probably see Katie as a younger sister, that's so cute.

"Yeah, and that's unfortunately the only book she'll actually pick up." Came the mother' voice from the kitchen who just finished unpacking groceries. "I'm Kendall's mom by the way." She says as she comes over to get ready to shake my hand.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Knight." I say as I shake her hand.

"Well, she's just as you guys said, she's very nice, I officially approve." Ms. Knight says as she walks back over to the counter to go through the cabinets to look for something.

"So I have been brought up more than is lead to believe." I say turning around to stare at the guys quizzically, but of course I can't keep the smile off my face. They give me a look that says 'they're both crazy and they have no idea what they're talking about', but I just rolled my eyes and sat back down on the couch.

"So wanna go another round?" Carlos asks hopefully.

"Sure, let's play-" I start saying but then I hear a loud gurgling noise coming from my stomach. My cheeks turn pink and I cover my stomach sheepishly.

"Was _that_ you stomach?" Logan laughs out loud.

"It sounded more like a lion's roar." Kendall said as he and Logan share a fist bump.

"Or backed up food in the drain." James says as we all kind of grimace at the thought.

"Or even a-" Carlos was going to continue but I cut him off.

"Okay, okay, I get it, my stomach makes weird noises. Can we move on?" I say as I try calming myself down and stop myself from turning another color besides a deeper shade of red.

"You hungry Amber? We're going to have dinner in a few minutes, you're welcome to stay." I hear Ms. Knight call from the sink.

"You sure? I don't want to intrude." I say sheepishly.

"Sure, we'll make room at the table." Ms. Knight says as Katie finally puts down her DS and helps her mom with food.

"Well alright th-" I was going to thank her but then my stomach grumbles again and the boys, Katie, and I all laugh as Ms. Knight says,

"Oh God, I better get to work and quick." She jokes as she prepares dinner.

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><p>wow wasn't that long! sorry for the abrupt ending, didn't know what else to write, but i'll think of something for the next chapter i promise, and also REVIEW! i want some notes on how my writing's doing, and i know it might sound cliche for Amber to be hit on by James (maybe?) but i wanted to show that they have a playful silly relationship, so yeah, that's it, GOOD NIGHT! i have an ACT to take bright and early today...tomorrow...whatever...PEACE! ...review...review...okay i'm SERIOUSLY tired..<p> 


	5. Big Time Recording pt 2

hi, okay, so it's 2:47 now and i finally finished this! it's been a while i know and i'm sorry for that, i'm probably only going to be able to work on weekends now because i'm back in school, sorry to disappoint, so anywho if this has spelling errors please forgive me i'm tired...so ENJOY!

oh, and i don't own BTR, just plot and characters i made up like Amber, Tess, Nick, Cliff, Lydia, and whoever else you don't know..

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><p>PART TWO:<p>

"And, ACTION!" Cliff calls as the camera starts rolling. The first part of the shot is of an ordinary suburban house, like the one I lived in growing up. The whole house was dark and no lights were on except for one room on the second floor. Then it zooms in on the illuminated window and faint music can be heard coming from somewhere. It moves from the outside to the inside as you get a tour of a room filled with posters and blasting music, the famous song "Big Time Rush" as a girl, aka ME, was lying on my stomach on top of the sheet of my bed as I'm watching a music video. A knock is faintly heard from the door when a woman comes into the room and asks,

"Amber, it's getting late, you should get some sleep?" Ms. Knight comes into the room as she stands over me.

"Oh come on mom, just a few more minutes…?" I beg. She looks at me and crosses her arms as she resists my begging, then I give her the puppy dog look and she caves saying,

"Oh alright, but not too late okay missy?" She looks at me.

"Thanks mom!" I say ecstatic as I bounce from my spot on my bed and press play again on the current video I was watching.

"I mean it, Amber." She says as she makes her way over to the door.

"I know, I know." I say as I get back to listening to the music as I bob my head. The woman dims the lights slightly as she leaves the room. A few minutes go by after that conversation and my eyes start to droop slowly and I fall asleep immediately as the intro the next song comes on.

"And Cut! Perfect! Move on to the next set people!" Cliff's voice boomed again, I open my eyes and get off the bed as everyone around the set is clearing out of the building and heading over to the next location to shoot the rest of the video at Gustavo's mansion.

"How was I? Did I mess up? I didn't have anything in my teeth did I?" I hear the worried voice of Ms. Knight become clearer as she approaches me.

"You were great _mom_." I say jokingly as she sighs in relief and laughs along with me. We make our way over to the screen where Cliff, Gustavo and Kelly were sitting at discussing some matters I didn't want to bother to listen to.

"So how'd it look?"

"Superb! You are a very natural actor." Cliff compliments.

"SO you couldn't tell I was shaking the whole time?"

"You were shaking?" Cliff asks.

"Uh, YEAH, all eyes were on me, I was so nervous." I say as I am still trying to shake off my nerves.

"Well it certainly didn't show; you're a natural." Kelly agrees.

"Thanks, now let's head over to Gustavo's and shoot the rest, the quicker we do this, the less time I have to be on camera."

"Alright-y then, let's go." Gustavo says as we all go along with him and take a fancy limo that we were going to use in the next shoot.

It didn't take us very long to get to the mansion and I was so in for a shock when we came up to it, it was, _breathtaking!_ I had never seen such a big house before, not even Tess' house could compare with Gustavo's mansion. I've heard the boys talk about it constantly but never had I imagined that it would be beyond what they've ever told me.

"Okay, let's head upstairs to the extra bedroom and begin shooting."

"What's going on in this scene?" I ask. We shortly before shooting went over what the storyline was going to be but I couldn't remember, I was too tired since we started the meeting at six o'clock, and even the coffee Kelly graciously got me didn't do anything.

"Well now we're in the dream sequence that Nick made up, you're now dreaming of the luxurious life you're dreaming to have when you're famous. And so we're going to show off quickly the room you imagine up, the maids, the limo, the clothes, etc."

"Okay, just go over with me what we have to do." I say as I just want to get this over with.

"Alright, Nick!" Cliff calls over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" He calls from talking with some costume people.

"Get over here and tell Amber how you want her to play her role."

"Alright." Nick says as he jogs over here and jumps into spot right next to me. "Right this way." He says directing me towards the bedroom since we were currently standing in the hallway. The bedroom was beautiful and I found it hard to believe it was just a spare room.

"So, what's going to go down?"

"Basically, you'll be lying down on the bed again in the same position as you were in 'your room' and you'll wake up by your computer and look around very confused, and the camera's only focused on your face, then it'll stretch out to show the rest of the room and them come back on you stretching as you're wearing an old fashioned night gown."

"A night gown? Seriously? How much cheesier can you get?"

"I know it's cheesy but it'll make things much easier after you 'wake up'. So the first lyrics in the song are 'Do you want to ride in a big limousine', which Kendall will be singing while you're in the room." Nick states.

"Wait what?" I say totally not understanding that little bit of information.

"Okay, so the boys are going to be almost the narrators of your dream by singing their song, so they're going to be in every scene that you're in, but you don't notice them because they're not actually there."

"Okay, that's a bit confusing but I get it I guess…" I say as I scratch my head.

"Good," Nick says as he then puts an arm around me and leads me over to the window. "So you'll go over to the window and the camera will be outside looking at your first looking down at the limo parked outside with a fancy driver waving hello."

"Okay, still very cheesy." I say, well rather complain.

"Oh trust me it gets better!" Nick says excitedly.

"Oh do tell of imaginative one!" I say sarcastically.

"Hm, I like the sound of that." Nick says as he ponders on the name I just gave him. I snap my fingers and he comes back to reality. "Anyway, three maids will come in and one will hold a breakfast platter, and one will be holding make up, and the last will be holding sparkly shoes."

"Okay, an odd combination." I comment.

"Well it makes sense because what they do next is undress you." Nick states.

"Wait, they're going to undress me on _camera_?" I asked absolutely horrified at the very thought. I hear whistles coming from somewhere and I feel embarrassed.

"Yup." He says simply.

"Nick!" I yell at him as I slap him on the shoulder that he rubs in pain, the big baby. He looks at me confused but the realized what he said and corrects himself.

"No, no! Don't worry, you'll be wearing the dress that you're 'changing into' underneath the night gown." He explained further.

"Oh! Now I see why the oversized nightgown's useful." I contemplate.

"Exactly, to cover up your sequined dress." He finishes.

"Sequins? Really? You _know_ how much I despise sequins." I complain.

"Yeah I know but sequins just scream importance and show off fame, so unfortunately for you, they're necessary for the shot."

"Fine, but only this one." I say as I wave a finger at him.

"Good, so they'll undo the Velcro on the back of the night gown to reveal your dress, then as one is putting on your makeup, the other is putting on your shoes for you, and they lead you out but not before you take a piece of bacon off the platter the last girl is holding okay?"

"Okay, that's a lot to do." I say taking everything in.

"Do you think you can do it?"

"Yeah, probably." I say thinking it over. I have to feel confident.

"Alright. Well it looks like everyone's ready and the crew brought in the laptop. Let's get you changed and shoot already."

"Alright." I say as Nick leads me to a bathroom where the clothes were already hung up on the hooks on the wall. I see the nightgown first and I immediately think of a spoiled girl from the 1900s would wear the exact nightgown or something remotely similar to it. Then I see the fabulous sequined dress I have to wear. I grimace as it shines too much and I pick it up and I hear it rattle. Great, I'm going to feel like jingle bells.

I slip the gold dress on first and look at myself in the mirror, although some people say it would look good on me, I didn't like it on me because it was just so opposite from who I was, I would never wear a dress like this in public. I sigh and then slip on the nightgown and again I look at myself, and I feel like I'm ten. I sigh as I flip my hair out of the head hole and turn around to head back into the room.

I walk into the room and everyone was waiting for me, so when I walk in everyone's staring at me and I duck my head down to conceal my slight blush and head over to the bed to lie down.

"What's jingling?" Kendall asked. I look over to where he is and he's wearing at tuxedo, and I can't help but stare for a bit before answering.

"Uh, that's just my dress underneath the nightgown, it rattles when I move." I said sheepishly as I stand up and shimmy a bit to prove a point. He nods at me and I lie back down on the bed with the computer open.

"Okay, quiet on set!" Cliff calls to the crew. That's my cue to get back into the same position I was in when I 'fell asleep' and I close my eyes and relax. "Light's coming up." He says as the room is illuminated with light, which I could tell even with my eyes closed.

"And, ACTION!" He calls. I count to two and I close my eyes tighter and blink a couple of times as I'm waking up and I then open my eyes fully as I'm pretending to be shocked as to where I was. I sit up slowly and I begin to yawn and stretch as the intro to the song starts playing. I get up quickly from my bed and I look at myself in the mirror, I get confused but then I hear a honk come from outside, I run over to the window and stop as my mouth is agape as I look down at the limo I hear Kendall from behind me start singing,

"Do you want to, ride in a big limousine?" The man down below, aka the driver, looks up to where I am and waves up at me as I shyly wave back at him. Kendall comes in with the next lines.

"Tell me do you want to, take a little bit of the fame machine?" As he says those lines, I feel someone tap my shoulder and I turn around startled to see the three maids behind me as they each present what they were holding. The first maid to the right shows off the food, and the camera gets in front of me slightly as I step back quietly so he could work his magic. The maid in the middle shows off a shiny pair of shoes that go so well with the gold dress underneath my nightgown, and the last maid is holding a makeup kit. The cameraman turns on me and I pretend to be completely shocked but also happy.

"If you want to be discovered," Kendall sings as the maids put their materials down, except for the maid holding the food as the rip the nightgown off of my body and reveal the shiny dress when the maid then powders my face with what smelled like baby powder and the woman holding the shoes straps them onto my feet. By the time they're done the next line is "End up on the cover of every star stubbed supermarket magazine." And that's when business people come into the room holding up magazines with my face on it. How on earth they did that so it looked real was a mystery to me, and where they'd find that picture? Anyway as that happened, the maids who helped me get dressed push me forward but before they go too far I take a piece of bacon from the platter and eat it on the way out of the room.

"And CUT!" Cliff yells. The maids stop pushing me and I stumble on the new shoes that I was wearing, since one, they were pinching me and digging into my skin, and two, they were really high.

"That was, PERFECT!" Nick says as he comes over and hugs me.

"Really, but I improvised in the beginning, is that okay?" I ask shocked.

"Are you kidding, seeing the shock on your face as you looked at yourself in the mirror was so realistic and it was just what you needed to kill time before Kendall came in singing the first lines." He says gushing over me as he squeezes my arms tight, and thus I wince and he stops and says sorry.

"Well alright then, I'm happy it worked out." I sigh as I rub my now sore arms.

"Good, now let's move on to the next part, I'll brief you on that as we walk down."

"I don't think I can in these shoes, I'll break my neck for sure."

"Want me to help with that?" I hear Kendall offer from behind as I turn around to see him approaching. "I can give you a piggyback ride."

"You don't mind?" I ask surprised.

"Nah, besides you're light compared to who I've had to carry before."

"Well if you insist." I sigh as I get ready to make my graceful jump.

"And I do, now hop on." Kendall says turning around as he pat his back. I take a step back and then pounce on his back and I wrap my legs around his back as he grabs my legs to keep me hoisted on his back. "You okay back there?"

"Yeah, just fine." I say as I readjust my grip around Kendall's neck. Kendall grunts as he hoists me higher on his back.

"Well okay, Nick you may commence with your debriefing." Kendall says as he starts heading towards the door ahead of Nick and then waits for him as they make it down the curved staircase.

We make it to the limo and Nick quickly went over the quick scene that was going to be shot in the limo. Then we'd move on to the next location, which was a fake red carpet that was going to be in Gustavo's backyard, but meant to be somewhere else and have the rest of the song unfold from there.

So I enter the limo with the business people from before as we pretend we're driving somewhere as I'm looking at the magazine and pretending to be amazed as Kendall then sings,

"You can do it, stick right to it. It could happen tonight." Then the camera stops rolling and we step out of the limo and move on over to the backyard. Once again Kendall gives me a piggyback ride to the back and then drops me off on the red carpet that's laid out on the pathway leading inside the building. Around the carpet was red rope holding people back. There was on one side of the carpet a group of people holding magazines and fake CDs with my face on it.

"Seriously how did Gustavo manage to get these pictures? It's almost creepy."

"That's Gustavo for you."

"I guess." I say as I look to the other side of the carpet, as there are groups of people pretending to be the paparazzi.

"Hey are those real paparazzi?" Kendall asks.

"Probably not, just actors that got hired to play the role."

"Actually most of the people are real paparazzi." I hear a voice whisper into my ear. I jump at the heat of the person's voice and turn around to see James standing up tall again along with Carlos and Logan, all wearing tuxedos as well.

"Wait, are you serious?" I ask now completely frightened.

"Yes, and what? You're not going to compliment us on our nice suits?" Logan asks.

"Whoa, you guys look good." I say sarcastically as I nod my head and cross my arms in approval. "Better?" I ask.

"Much." James says.

"Alright people let's keep it moving! We still have a lot more to shoot today." Cliff yells as everyone starts rushing around getting ready.

"Okay, good luck and don't freak out." James says.

"I think it's too late for that." Carlos says as he sees me shaking in my heels.

"Hey, hey," Kendall says coming over and putting his hands on my shoulders, I look up at him and out of my little world, although I'm still shaking. "You have nothing to worry about, just don't look directly into the flashes and you'll be fine. And then just casually walk over to someone and sign the CD with a marker they will give you and then take one picture with a kid and then move on."

"I don't know if I can." I say as I look away.

"Come on," Kendall says as he takes hold of my chin so that I have to look at him. "What happened to that girls a few days ago who was as confident as could be?" He questions.

"When did that happen?" I say trying to keep down the stutter and nervousness of how close we were down.

"It happened twice actually, in one day. First when you sang your song for us, and second when you creamed James and Carlos in Halo."

"Hey don't bring that up, it's a sensitive topic." Carlos says crossing his arms, pouting at the memory.

"You think I can do this?" I ask amazed in how confident he is in me.

"No," He says and I roll my eyes, way to give a heart-warming pep talk Kendall. "I _know_ you can do this." Kendall says as he looks at me in a very serious and confident way. I feel my breath hitch in the back of my throat and I nod my head and he lets go and I shake out as much nerves as I could, not without jingling of course.

"Okay, you're right, I can do this. I can do this." I say as I try to sound more confident with each word.

"That's the spirit!" Carlos says.

"Knock 'em dead." James said patting my back almost making me tip over in my shoes.

"Everyone! Places please!" Cliff calls over all the noise that was coming from the background, thank God he didn't have a megaphone or else we'd all be deaf.

"Alright, that's our cue, just relax." Logan says as he tries to relax me as well. "Hey when you think about it, this is good practice for when you're actually famous."

"Ha, ha, very funny, now go on and get moving." I say as I lightly shove Logan in the side as he laughs at me and walks back over to the rest of the guys.

"Amber!" Someone calls my name. it was Nick and I look to him with a questioning look. "We're changing it up a bit, you're going to enter from the limo and then do everything else like I said earlier, alright?"

"Okay, I'm on my way over." I say as I carefully walk over in the heels that I think I was finally getting used to standing and walking around in. I see the limo reverse itself and pull back to the front of the carpet and the guy I recognized as the driver from before who waved high opens the door for me. I say thanks and crawl into my seat as he closes the door behind me. Someone taps on the glass and I roll the window down.

"Just count to five and that's when the door will open and you have to get your famous smile ready for the cameras, okay?" Cliff instructs as Nick stands beside him for moral support I nod my head and Nick mouths good luck to me as well as gives me two thumbs up and I close the window on them. After a second I can hear Cliff yell,

"And, ACTION!" I sigh and begin to count down from five and once I reach one, the door opens up and I put my first foot outside the limo and then carefully and as gracefully as I could possibly manage, I crawl out of the limo and give a big cheeky smile as I wave to the crowd of roaring fans on the right of me and flashing yelling photographers on the left. I walk out casually to the right side and I high five some fans, and then I see a little girl up at front holding a marker and CD. I find her absolutely precious, so I walk over to her and kneel down to her height and say hi as I take the marker and CD.

"What's your name?" I ask the little girl.

"I'm Sara." She says happily as I can almost see a twinkle in her eye, or that might be the reflection of my dress, but it still made her look even more adorable.

"Well it's nice to meet you Sara." I say as I write her name on the CD and then write my signature underneath with a smiley face. "Here you go!"

"Thank you!" She cheers as she gives me a hug around the neck, I don't think that was in the script but I accept it anyways and I get up and then go over to another fan, a boy, a bit younger than me most likely who was holding a camera and so I take the camera from him and I turn it to face us and I take a photo with him and give him a quick hug, pass around a few more high fives around me and move on to the other side of the carpet.

I stand in front of flashing lights as I try not to squint my eye and look off in another direction as they are taking photos of me.

"Ms. Riordan! Ms. Riordan! Can I have a word?" I'm assuming that this was actually a paid actor since I don't think the paparazzi were meant to be asking me real questions.

"Hi, I'm Heather Snow from channel nine news," She says casually as she talks into the mike. Yup, she was an actress, well as far as I could tell since I've never heard of her.

"Hi." I say casually.

"So what's it like making your first appearance out here?"

"Well it's very exhilarating and not to mention nerve wracking, but I'm having a great time out here and I've met great people and I'm really liking LA."

"What's your favorite part about it?"

"Well since I'm from Boston, the weather hasn't changed that much since it's around this temperature there now, but the beaches are much bigger here and everything is just so much bigger than where I lived in Boston and it's just so inviting."

"Well I wish you the best out here and don't let the cameras get to you."

"Thank you, it was nice meeting you." I say as I hold my hand out for her to take. She stares at it, as if she was a little surprised at first but then looks up at me and smiles and takes my hand and gives it a quick shake and says,

"Look at you, you're so polite and it was a pleasure meeting you too."

"Thank you." I say as I walk away but pause up ahead as a few more pictures of me are taken and then I walk off to the stairs that lead in and I hear Cliff call cut. Everyone relaxes from what they were doing and I sigh as I turn around and flop onto the stairs as my feet begin to kill for standing and walking for some time, although it didn't seem like much. Also as all that happened, the guys in the background sang the chorus of the song and as they hit the last note I made my way to the stairs.

"That was good Amber," Cliff says as he along with Nick and the guys come up to sit down around me on the stairs. "It was a bit long but we can cut out the stuff and move it around to different parts of the video, very nice acting and you were so chill when talking to that reporter."

"Well obviously she was paid to do her job." I say.

"What do you mean?" Nick asks me confused.

"I'm just saying she was a very good actress." I restate.

"Uh Amber?" Logan says.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"That wasn't an actress." Logan states slowly.

"What, of course that was." I argue.

"No, that was a real reporter, from real TV, who just interviewed you." Carlos says even slower.

"No it wasn't…was it?" I ask as I dart my eyes around nervously.

"What, have you never seen Heather Snow before, she's only the hottest news reporter on LA news." James says like it was obvious.

"Wait, so I just got interviewed by a real reporter?" I ask.

"Yup." Kendall says as he rubs my back.

"And is that going to be on TV?" I ask afraid of the answer.

"Probably not." Carlos says. I sigh in relief.

"But probably it'll be a clip on their website." Logan adds.

"What?" I exclaim as I sigh and put my head between my knees.

"Hey, you did really well, you treated it just like any person would treat an interview. You have nothing to worry about." Nick compliments as he tries to calm my nerves. The thought of hundreds, or maybe thousands of people seeing me on a website later is nerve wracking.

"You sure? I felt rather silly talking to her." I said ashamed.

"That's how it always feels because you feel like you're having a typical conversation but then the flashing lights and the microphone held up for you throws you off." Kendall said.

"Yeah, that's exactly how I felt." I say feeling better.

"It's very typical, but once you've done it enough, you'll be so used to it you won't even realize the cameras are there." James says.

"Have you guys gotten a lot of that?" I ask. They look at each other and then they just sort of look away and scratch the back of their heads, looking for something to interest them more.

"Uhm, we've had a few interviews…" Carlos admitted.

"Nothing too major but we know how weird it can feel when you're bombarded with cameras and questions." Logan says as he pats my back.

"Okay." I sigh as I give him a look that meant I was really thankful for the cheering up.

"Okay people!" Cliff calls to everyone as he checks the time and springs upwards out of his seat. "You get an hour lunch break, but after that we're heading right back to work."

"Was it already time for lunch?" I asked shocked, wow time just flew by.

"Well actually it's almost three, we were taping through lunch, but now we have a good third of the video done, so we can take a break now." Nick states as he looks at his script of what's supposed to happen as I also see check marks next to cues that we've completed.

"Alright, then let's grab some grub! I'm starving."

"Me too."

"I definitely need something for my throat, singing so much really got my mouth to dry up."

"Aw you poor baby." I say as I nudge Kendall and he pokes me in the side and jump in place.

"Oh, you're ticklish are you?" Kendall says deviously. I shudder at what his twisted mind is probably thinking, so I do the first thing that comes to mind. I kick off my shoes and make a dash away from him. to my misfortune, Kendall catches up with me, much quicker than I thought, and he grabs me around the waist and spins me around as he's pinching my sides.

I can't help but yell and laugh in shock as I'm tickled until I feel my ribs are going to burst. I start to cough roughly as I am placed on the ground, standing straight up, but I still feel arms wrapped around my waist as I see Kendall looking at me. He looks sort of concerned as I am still coughing, but not as violently, but I can see a small smile on his face that was from before probably when he was torturing me.

"You okay?" He asks sincerely. I stare at him for a bit, seeing he's close to me again for another time as I also felt the grip on my hips grow tighter as the worry in his face just took over. I finally calm down and clear my throat.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just couldn't breath for a bit since I was laughing so much." I say as I put a hand to my ribs as I feel them contract as they take air in nice and smooth.

"So in a sense you just admitted that I take you're breath away."

"Ha, ha, you're so funny."

"I like to believe I am." He says smirking down at me playfully. I look up at him and we both laugh together. After a moment we stop and we stare at each other and I see him slowly start to lean down and I feel my heart race. I panic slightly at my own reaction and quickly slip out of Kendall's grasp as I take a breath and come up with an excuse as I turn around.

"Sorry, my stomach grumbled and I'm just dying for something unhealthy right about now." I say apologetically.

"Well alright, there's a great smoothie place around the corner? Will that do to serve your stomach?"

"Sure, for now anyway. But then I want some real food." I say as I stick out my hand and he looks at it and gives me a look like he was saying 'seriously?' "Oh come on, just shake it. It's just something I do."

"Alright then," He says as he takes my hand and shakes it. "It's a deal."

"Hey guys," I call as I see the guys were talking amongst themselves from where we left them before. They stop talking and look over where Kendall and I are standing. "Kendall and I are going to get smoothies, you wanna come?"

"Nah, we're cool." Nick calls back as he waves us off.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, we'll just, catch up with you two later." Carlos calls out to us as I see from behind the rest of the guys were laughing amongst themselves at something.

"Alright then, see you in an hour." I call back as Kendall stands up taller as he holds out his arm for me to take. I smile up at him and loop my arm with his and we walk over to a car that he owned and we drove away to the smoothie shack.

So Kendall and I walked into the smoothie shack and it was a brightly lit room with bright colors painted on the walls. There was a whole rack of fruits to choose from so you can make your own unique creation.

"Are you going to stand there with your mouth open all day or are you going to get a smoothie?" Kendall asks laughing at my dumbfounded expression. I felt sort of out place, and I didn't know where to begin.

"Sorry, I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm in smoothie heaven." I say ad I smile sheepishly at him. He smiles back at me and waves me over to join him by the wrack of fruit. I rush over and I start looking around.

"I've never made my own smoothie before." I say as I look at all the fruit.

"You haven't?" Kendall asked as he grabbed two bananas off the wrack.

"No, I know that must be shocking...we don't have awesome places like this back in Boston."

"Well how about I order first and then you can see if you like what I get." He suggests.

"Sounds like a great idea." I say.

"Okay, just beware, I like a variety of stuff."

"I think I can manage." I say chuckling as he gets a grin on his face as he starts to pick a lot of different fruit. As well as the two bananas he has in his hands, he also takes some kiwi, strawberries, and pineapple. And he got so much I had to help him carry the stuff over as we then brought it up to the counter.

"Good to see you Kendall. What are you having today?" The guy off the bat addressed Kendall. I guess he's been here his fair share of times.

"Hey Tom, good to see you, you finally got around to shaving I see?" He jokes and they both laugh at something I felt clueless about. "I'm gonna get the usual 'Crazy Fruit Smoothie'." Kendall wraps up after his laugh.

"And you want cream of coconut with it?" The guy Tom asked as if it was obvious.

"Absolutely." He says with a grin.

"Alright then," the guys says as he takes the fruit from Kendall and then grabs the fruit from my hands. "I'll get that fixed up for you. By the way, nice score," Tom says as he goes up to Kendall but looks at me. "She's a keeper I can tell."

"Oh, we're not…" Kendall and I sputter out as we blush a bit.

"Ah don't worry I get it, you want to keep it a secret, that's fine by me."

"What secret? We're not dating." I say as I run my fingers through my hair. God this was just getting a little too uncomfortable. I was probably as red as the strawberries Tom took from my hands. Without another word, Tom goes back to the far side of the wall and puts the fruit in the large blender and adds the coconut cream.

"Sorry about that, he's a bit of a jokester." Kendall bends down and whispers in my ear, although he doesn't need to because the roar of the blender going off would've easily covered up his comment. Also, I got this weird feeling in my stomach when I felt his breath hit my ear.

"Yeah, I mean it's okay, don't worry about it." I say as I tuck a strand of loose hair out of my face.

"Here you go." Tom says as he comes back with a rather large cup.

"Wow that's a huge cup."

"Yeah, but I love this smoothie so much I always end up finishing it. But you should try it to see if you like it."

"Okay," I say as I take the large cup from Kendall and hold it with both hands as I put the straw to my mouth and suck some of the smoothie out, it was kind of thick so it took some force. "Wow," I say as I stop after only taking a little bit. "That's the best smoothie I've ever had."

"Well of course it is, you've never had my famous smoothies before." Tom boasts.

"So you want one?"

"Sure."

"That's good, because I still have some left from Kendall's batch. He always likes to give me too much."

"I still never know how much to take."

"So how much would that be?" I ask as I start pulling out my wallet to pay Tom for the smoothie he was just about to get me.

"Oh no, you're not paying." Kendall said as if I was making a joke and he started laughing at the suggestion.

"Don't tell me you're going to?" I asked almost horrified. With what little money him and the boys came up with at the hotel when they were trying to repair the bed, actually beds, they broke, I couldn't see how he could pay for _two_ smoothies.

"I am to going to pay for it." He says as he was already holding out a five.

"But you don't need to." I say.

"I know, that's because I want to." He counters.

"But you really shouldn't." I argue.

"And why not?" He asks.

"Because I don't want you to waste your money on getting another smoothie when I have the money to get it myself."

"It's never money wasted when Tom makes the smoothies." Kendall says as he fist bumps Tom.

"But-" I try to protest again but then Tom comes back with my smoothie and Kendall slaps down a five onto the counter right next to my smoothie and says,

"Ha! Well now it's too late." He says. "Now come on, let's grab a seat outside." Kendall said, but first we had to go to the side counter and pick up some napkins.

"God you're pushy." I state as a matter of fact.

"It's in my blood, my sister's the same way." Kendall says.

"Yeah I have noticed that, but she's adorable, so it's okay." I say as I recall first meeting Katie, she was so funny.

"So you're saying since I'm not adorable it's not okay?" He asks pretending to be offended by my comment.

"I didn't say that." I said mischievously.

"Yes but you implied it." He states.

"Who said I did?" I ask as I put one hand on my fist as I was getting napkins.

"I don't know, it'd be easier if you answered it yourself." He says.

"Nah, I'll pass." I say as I laugh and walk past him.

"You're just as annoying as me." He called after me, and he was wise to because it got me to stop and walk back over to me.

"Now I didn't say you were annoying, I said you were pushy." I correct him.

"But you said it in an annoyed tone." He says smirking.

"You know how stupid we sound?" I say as I toss some hair behind my head without using my hands since they were full.

"Pretty stupid." Kendall and I both say in unison and we laugh. Tom was just chilling out by the counter since we hadn't really moved far from the counter. We look over at him as he stares at us, obviously amused by our conversation.

"Do you mind?" I say as I now stare him down.

"No." He says staring right back. Now I see why he was such a good bud with Kendall. I roll my eyes and although I didn't see it Kendall gave Tom a look to knock it off and so Tom takes the five that was still on the counter where Kendall had left it and walks off, but not before waving bye.

Kendall and I exchange glance and laugh at what just happened. And on that note, we finally decided to leave the smoothie shack and head outside. We see all the tables taken, I guess people thought the same as us, also thinking it was a nice day to sit outside. Kendall looked around and a little farther off on the path and he pointed it out. I glanced over where his finger was leading me to and I shrugged, not caring where we sat, so we walked over to the bench and sat down at it.

"Wow, I'm so glad you suggested getting this smoothie." I say as I take another huge gulp from my large cup.

"I'm glad you like it." He says as he laughs at the face I make when I feel a piece of fruit that wasn't crushed enough get stuck in my straw. I struggle for a bit until Kendall takes my cup and gets the chunk out, he even does me the honor of showing it to me as it sat on his tongue.

"Ew! Just eat it." I say as I shove him lightly. He laughs as I can't help but keep a slight smile off my face. We relax a bit as he outstretched his arms across the back of the bench we were sitting on.

"You know, I'm really glad you won the contest." He says as he stares out into space.

"Hm?" I ask as I'm slightly confused as to why he brings that up. So I decide to ask. "What makes you bring that up?" I ask as I look up at him.

"Well just right now, if you never won, I never would've met you, and we wouldn't be sitting here having a relaxing afternoon. So thanks." He says as he looks at me.

"So I'm guessing before I came along there wasn't really that much down time, being upcoming super stars and all?" I ask.

"You can say that," Kendall says as he laughs at my latter comment and looks out again at the little park that was in front of us. "I guess really we just been too busy working we haven't had that much time to just hang out and sit down for a moment, like this." He says as he finally looks at me again. He has this smile on his face that just makes me feel sort of happy, and his eyes almost seem to be bearing into mine.

"Well, I'm glad I could be of some help."

"You've been a _great_ help."

"Don't go giving me too much credit."

"You're too modest you know that? I meant what I said."

"Well, thank you," I say as I look away all of a sudden feeling slightly shy. But I feel a hand wrap around my left cheek that was the farthest from Kendall and face me forward again so I'm looking at Kendall. He looks at me in a way I can't decipher, well until he started leaning slowly forward. I try inching away but I couldn't move from my current position so I think of the only thing I could do to stop it.

"I have a boyfriend!" I scream almost as I shut my eyes tightly not wanting to look at what happens as well as biting down on my tongue until I felt like it was going to bleed. I feel Kendall's hand, the one on my left cheek tense up slowly, lighten on my touch and slowly let go. I peek one eye open and I look at him. He's just sort of staring at me with a blank expression.

"What?"

"I, have a boyfriend." I say slowly, almost as if it was a struggle to leave my mouth.

"Wait, but I don't understand, why did you kiss me in the elevator?" He asks as the confusion on his face, also maybe along with some pain, was clearly painted on his features.

"God I was hoping you were too drunk to remember that…" I hiss under my breath, he just sort of looks at me now, expecting me to answer his question. I sigh as I look away and push some hair out of my face. I look up at him and start.

"Well one, you kissed me the first time, and my reaction time was slow and I was slightly drunk, so I slightly kissed back."

"It didn't feel _slightly_…" Kendall mumbles.

"And also do you remember what you said when I asked why you kissed me?"

"Yeah, I said thanks for giving us this time to just hang out, since again we haven't had that much down time since becoming a band." He says almost exactly perfect. And yes, it's sad that I remember what he says.

"Yeah, and I thought that was very nice of you to say, since we literally only met that night. So, I just sort of gave you a 'thank you' kiss on the cheek." I say as I almost emphasize on the kiss on the cheek part.

"Yeah, but a kiss is still a kiss." He says.

"Yeah, and again, I was hoping you would've just slept that all away after that night."

"Well I didn't." Kendall sighs.

"And I'm sorry that I didn't clarify the fact that I do indeed have a boyfriend before hand."

"Well why haven't you even mentioned it?" He asked curiously.

"Because he's at lacrosse camp and couldn't bring his phone."

"Right…" Kendall says just the way Tess said it when I told her.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I exacerbate.

"Sorry, it just seems weird that you're not allowed to have a phone at camp." He says as casually as he could.

"Yeah well, he doesn't have his." I say as I tell myself that as if I need to convince myself of that fact.

"I would've expected that if that was the case you'd be complaining about how much you miss him or whatever." He said. Typical boy to think a girl would complain about not being with her guy.

"Yeah, but I felt like I don't always need him by my side, I'm a pretty independent person, and being away from him is almost like being a bit more free since he was always around back at home and he loved PDA."

"Ew, I didn't really need to know that."

"Oh, sorry." I say as I rub the back of my neck. I sigh a bit, as things have clearly gotten weird between us, and which really upset me since Kendall's a great friend to have.

"Look, I'm sorry for, trying to…whatever." Kendall says apologetically, and he did sound sorry for it. "Can we, possibly move on from this…?" He asked filled with hope.

"It's okay. And I agree, it's best to just to leave it here." I say, thank God he asked that because I really didn't want to ask because I was so nervous if he wasn't okay with it or not.

"Okay, good. So," He says looking at the time. "Oh, crap we got to move, we only have five minutes to make it back.

"Oh God, let's get to your car."

"Right." He says as he and I both take the last hugest sips of our lives from our cups as we then discard the empty plastic containers and rush over to his car to make it back just in time for Cliff to not explode.

"Where have you two been?" Tess asks curiously giving me a weird look.

"Sorry, sorry, we were finishing up our smoothies and they were really thick?" I say apologetically.

"Well, alright fine, but let's just get back to work." Cliff said.

"Okay, cool, what's the next scene?"

"Well since it's later now, which is what we wanted, we were going to have you now go off to a party scene, we have everything already set up, and during the party you'll have to perform a song."

"Will I actually have to sing?" I ask a little frightened at the fact.

"Yup." Nick says as he pops up behind me as he wraps an arm around my shoulders. "But that's why you've been on the Project Star-catcher for, to work on singing, which in my opinion never needed much work to begin with."

"Well thank you, but do I really have to sing?"

"Well that's how you got to be 'famous'." Nick says in quotations. "Or really in how you are going to be famous, it's practice for the future."

"You keep saying that and I still don't believe you." I say.

"Well you better get used to hearing it because I mean it. Now you're only going to be singing in front of a small crowd." Nick says.

"How small is 'small'?" I warily ask.

"I don't know, how many people are there Cliff?"

"I don't know, Lydia and Tess just invited everyone on her phone and my phone combined." Cliff shrugs casually.

"So how many is that?" I ask again.

"I don't know, probably, 100-150? Give or take." Cliff says chilled out.

"What?" I almost scream at him as I take the collar of his shirt and shake him around a bit.

"Hey, calm down, it's okay." Nick says trying to restrain me.

"Okay? How can this be okay? That's a whole lot of people in that audience Cliff, how could you not tell me that beforehand hmm?" I say as I finally let him go pinching the bridge of my nose.

"There's no need to worry, they already heard the song that you're going to perform?" Cliff says as he fixes his shirt.

"They have? What song is it?" I ask. Maybe it's one I know really well and then I can just pretend like it's karaoke.

"It's the one you wrote, you know the one about Tess." Nick says as he thinks about it before answering.

"Wait, what? How have they heard it?" I ask totally mystified.

"Gustavo all gave them the CD that you made." Cliff says.

"_What _CD?" I say slowly as I'm gritting my teeth. I also felt very tempted to smack both my friends across the face.

"You know, the one you recorded with us, remember in the studio, we were singing it with you towards the middle?" Carlos asked.

"I know the song. I just don't understand how Gustavo got a hold of it."

"Well we, sort of, accidentally left it in the recording studio." James said casually, trying not to make it look like it was completely their faults; too late.

"So that means Gustavo or Kelly must've found it, recognized your voice and ours of course and decided to keep it." Logan summarized.

"And no one decided to tell me this ahead of time _because_?"

"We thought you knew?" Nick questioned as he went behind Cliff to hide as I gave him a nasty glare.

"And what if I say no?" I question.

"NO to performing in front of the crowd?" Kendall asked not liking the sound of that.

"Yup." I say popping the P.

"Well you're not _going_ to say no because you'll be disappointing a lot of people who actually _like_ your music and also costing a whole lot of money." Gustavo stormed over angrily as he got up in my face.

"Ugh." I groan as I fall back on a chair that was in the room along the walls. I could barely breath, how could this be happening, and so quickly too?

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Oh and Gustavo remixed the song a bit to make it more lively, just for this occasion." Lydia mentions.

"How's it sound?" I ask the boys as well as my friends.

"I don't know; we haven't had time to listen to it." Logan says as the rest of the guys and my friends shake their heads.

"Gustavo?" I ask as I turn to him to see what he has to say about the song.

"Of course since I fixed it up, it sounds amazing." He states.

"Alright, I guess I'll just have to take your word for it." I sigh as I run my fingers through my hair as I try to collect myself and stop myself from shaking.

"SO, now that's all explained, let's get you back by the door, have you walk through, and all you have to do is go directly to the stage, there will be a camera guy in front of you and a path cleared, so make sure you move quickly to the stage, go up to the mike, and the all you have to do is sing and really get into it." Cliff says as he's using his hands as he talks a lot.

"And that's it?" I ask hopefully.

"Well that'll be all for today, I mean we've been working for a while." Nick says.

"So is everyone already inside?" I ask as I try looking beyond everyone but even when I tried there were curtains covering the walls that I knew were lined with full-scale windows.

"Yup, we're all just waiting for you to get ready and then the show will get underway." Tess explains.

"Sheesh, so they've been waiting in there and I have to perform in front of them, no pressure." I sigh.

"Don't think too much into it, all you have to do is walk, sing and then you're done. Easy." Carlos says as he wraps a comforting arm around me.

"Yeah, if only." I sigh.

"Look, we're all going to be right behind you, not in a literal sense but figuratively." James says comforting on my other side.

"If you need a boost of energy, all you have to is look for us and we'll support you 100%." Tess says.

"OKAY! Let's make some music video magic!" Cliff cheers and everyone gets ready and in spot as I was left on the chair as I sighed to myself as I then slowly got up to then almost run into Kendall who decided not to leave just yet.

"Good luck." He says shyly to me. I look up at him and smile. I give him a hug around the waist and he puts his arms across my back and rubs my back gently.

"Are you sure I can do this?"

"Absolutely, I mean look what you've done so far. You came out here to LA, you were lied to the whole time while on the trip, get tricked by that awful girl, then bounce back and still make it in time to perform, then you get to record a song you didn't know about, and be in our music video. At this point, I don't think anything could go wrong."

"Well, I hope you can feel that way for the both of us." I sigh as we both chuckle a bit. We finally get go of our hug and before I know it, Kendall leans down and kisses me on the forehead. I can't help but get shivers along my arm, thankfully they're covered up by the cardigan I threw on. And even when he pulled away, I could feel the warmth develop from my forehead across my whole face along with the feeling of a small spark. I give him a little look.

"I know I know, you don't have to tell me, but that was just a good luck kiss."

"'But a kiss is still a kiss'." I say quoting him from before as he pokes me on the side and I jump up and he laughs at my reaction.

"Well, you know…" He says as he grins at me. I smile at how he's still trying to go around the fact that I have a boyfriend, it's really cute. Okay, no more thoughts like that Ms. Amber Riley.

"Okay, well I should go." I say in a shy tone, although I didn't mean for it to come out that way as I slowly start backing up and towards the mansion.

"Okay." He said smiling down at me since I was indeed shorter than him by a good three inches. I then turn around and run to the mansion, I look back and he's still standing there watching me and smiling to himself or at me, I couldn't tell.

I get to the mansion and I meet up with Cliff who directs me where to start and told how to do everything again and how I should feel. I take in everything he says and I sigh as I shed my jacket and toss it to Nick on the side who catches it with ease and he along with Tess and Lydia who were standing by him give me two thumbs up each.

"Okay, whenever you're ready Cliff." I say as I face the door I'm going to walk through into the house.

"Okay, 'Hey Dylan," Cliff calls into a hand held as he sets up the camera. "Is everyone ready for Amber?"

"Yup, we're all set in here. Ready for your count."

"And…ACTION!" Cliff calls out. I start walking with a beat in my step as I walk up the small set of stairs and then have two people who were at the doors open them up for me and I walk in. Immediately as the doors opens the crowd inside goes crazy. I could see the path they made right in the center as it leads to the stage. I smile the whole time and give high fives to the people who were standing around me as they all cheered as I jogged quickly up to the stage. I used the set of the stairs to the side of the stage and then I saw the DJ along with some musicians behind me nod their heads at me as I give them all high fives and say hey.

The DJ cranks up the new tune to the song I was about to sing, I go up to the mike and I look out at the crowd, as they got excited from hearing the tune. Have they heard it already so they knew what was going to happen or were they just playing their role as the excited audience? I never got that answer as the music soon cued me in and I san my new version of the song I wrote.

As I sang I looked out at the audience every so often and looked for four familiar boys as well as my friends. I finally found them in the way, WAY, back of the room and they were cheering and egging me to keep going. My eyes landed on the tall, blonde, and eyebrows band member, aka Kendall, and he was smiling at me and I smiled at him and that's what really got me to get more into my song. I was waving my arms getting people to do the same and they repeated my actions and I couldn't believe people were actually following me.

I could hear the guys' voices in the background of the song and that also gave me some comfort to fall back on, just hearing them made me feel better, although I know they weren't directly behind me singing it.

Finally once it ended everyone cheered, and as I looked at the crowd, people actually looked like they liked it and weren't acting, or maybe they were all just amazing actors. But nonetheless, I stood away from the mike and I bowed and I even waved and people were waving back and I blew a kiss and walked off with a smile.

I was surprised when as I got off the stage, two large men wearing black with yellow coats on top greeted me. They were bodyguards who were sent to, well, guard me. I didn't think I was going to need it but apparently I did as I saw people trying to approach me and congratulate me or just people in general who wanted to talk to me or even see me. I felt so honored that I was leaving such an impression on this many people I was speechless.

Thankfully we eventually got outside and I was able to breath. The bodyguards were sure doing their job by keeping me away from everyone by almost squishing me between the two of them.

Unfortunately when they stepped away from me and I let the cool breeze to enter my lungs as I inhaled through my nose, I was tackled in bear hugs from my friends.

"Wow! I have never seen you confident on stage before!" Tess yelled at me.

"You were meant to be on stage!" Lydia agreed.

"Girl, you really brought it!" Nick says.

"Aw you guys…" I felt tears coming on as I was leaving the stage and I finally let a few fall as they said such nice things to me. When they all let go of me, they saw me crying and they all awed.

"Aw, you poor baby, were you that shaken up?" Tess said as she tried fixing me up.

"Yeah…" I said as I uselessly rubbed away my tears, since new ones were already taking their pace. Tess tackled me in another hug, this time only her and I tackled her right back.

"Hey awesome job Amber!" I could hear Carlos call from behind me. When he saw I was shaking I guess or maybe from over my shoulder Tess was giving him a look, Carlos' voice changed octaves as he asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine, I was just so overwhelmed I didn't know how to control myself." I say a bit calmer now but still crying.

"You're so cute when you cry." James says as he comes over and gives me a hug.

"Thanks!" I say as I bury my head into his chest, not really caring if the costume designers yell at me for ruining it with make up or my tears.

"There, there," He soothes. "I'm here now, you don't need to cry."

"What would I do without you?" I ask as I lift my head up and start laughing at him as everyone around joins in.

"Okay people!" Cliff finally comes over after he was done talking with Gustavo. "We're done for the day! Time to call it quits and finally relax."

"Thank God." I sigh as I let go of James, since now I was feeling much better, although I knew my face still looked pretty puffy.

"Alright, lets get you out of that silly dress, it's hurting my eyes."

"Yeah, lets help you get out of that." James says as he puts an arm around my waist and starts leading me inside to change.

"Uh, NO." I say as I slip out of his grasp and go over to Lydia and Tess who already had the outfit I was wearing before in their hands. "Thanks for the offer James, but there are limits to where you're allowed to go."

"Well it was worth a shot." He sighs disappointed. I laugh at him and walk off with Lydia and Tess inside Gustavo's mansion as everyone was clearing out.

"Hey! Awesome job!" I hear some people yell over at me as we walk upstairs.

"Thank you!" I call over my shoulder.

"Wow, look at you Ms. Popularity. You're just spiraling up aren't you?" Lydia says as she nudges me in the side as I stifle a giggle as the nudge tickled me.

"Well, I haven't done that much yet, I mean by this time tomorrow no one who saw me today will remember my name."

"Why do you always have to think that way?" Tess yells at me as she slaps my arm, which currently hurts.

"One, Ow! Two, if I think this way, then I won't set myself up for disappointment. Aiming lower is the best way to be happy."

"Sure…" Tess and Lydia say together as they give me my clothes and shove me into the bathroom to change.

I slip off the dress, feeling much better to not have the itchy material scratching my skin any further. I put on my sweats and sigh as I try to take off some of the added glitter that the makeup artists applied to my face.

"You almost done in there?"

"Yeah, James just texted me saying that to celebrate the first day of shooting completed and nothing getting broken, the guys were going to take us all out bowling."

"Oh I love bowling!" I hear Lydia cheer from the outside of the door. I laugh as I yell back,

"Just about done." I say as I wash my hands of the glitter that now got on my hands and I leave the bathroom.

"Wow, it's like a brand new you."

"Yeah I know, I felt like I needed a jack hammer to get the stuff off my face." We all laugh as we then head down the stairs and see the mess that was once there now almost cleaned up.

"Wow they sure work fast." Lydia said. We all nod in agreement and head out the door where the guys were waiting patiently for us.

"So, who's pumped to bowl?"

"We are!" We say in unison. We all then head off into different cars as he head down to the area's best bowling place.

"Well this has been a summer that I will never forget." I said, as I look at all my new friends I was going to have to leave behind. The past two weeks had flown by like a drunken Friday night. Filming finished last Friday, which by the way; the video looks amazing, and my parents came up the next day and we spent the whole time together, and at points I was able to escape my parent's clutches and hang out with everyone.

"Ever think you'll be coming back for another visit or vacation even?"

"Well maybe now I'll have to arrange something to see all of you again."

"But you'll keep in touch obviously right?"

"Of course I will. Gosh I'm going to miss you Lydia." I say as I run up to her and we embrace for a bit, both of us not wanting to let go.

"Text me when you land, and also give me your IM so we can chat there too."

"Sure thing." I say as I get go and move on to saying by to her brother.

"Thanks for everything Cliff, from helping with the video to well, everything else you've done."

"No problem-o. I should be thanking you though, now I have some pretty famous people on my phone who said would call me whenever they have another video or project for me to do."

"That's awesome, and you're going to have to send me a text or something whenever you're credited in something so I can yell out 'I KNOW HIM!'" we both laugh and we fist bump, because we're that cool.

"And now here come the water works." I say as I sigh and look at Carlos and his unhappy face.

"Amber," He starts off, o God does he have a speech or something? "I just wanted to say thanks, I've never had a sister before, and you've kind of filled that spot in my life and I'm going to miss you a lot, and stuff…" He says as he scratches his head. I guess now you can say I was crying.

"Aw Carlos!" I jump him in a huge hug. I cry on his shoulder.

"You're the coolest, most awesome, older brother I've never had!" I say as I let go but of course I draw him back into the hug. He pulls me away and he wipes my tears and I thank him.

"Hey, no need to cry, you're going to be all puffy for when we take our goodbye picture." Logan teases me.

"I know, but I can't help it." I say as he then opens up his arms and go immediately into them as he rubs my back gingerly and I squeeze him tighter.

"And now it's my turn for a famous Amber hug!" James cheers. I laugh and go into the hug. I was going to wrap my arms around his waist but then he goes in quicker into the hug and lifts me up. Now he was the tallest of the group, beating me in height by about four inches, and so I was off the ground at about six inches. He spun me around and kissed me on the head.

"Now that was the best goodbye hug ever." I say as we both laugh. "Wow, I didn't realize how much I'm going to miss how unexpected you are."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I then give him a small hug around the middle that he returns. Then I step back and take my last step to the right as I say goodbye to the last person I wanted to say goodbye to. Kendall.

"Don't start crying again Amber." Kendall says as he immediately before saying anything opened up his arms and I ran into them as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Despite that little awkward moment when he tried kissing me, we were still as close as ever. "We'll no doubt see you again when you're famous and get to where we are."

"Sure, but who knows how long that'll be." I sigh into his chest. I could fee his heart beat start to pick up all of a sudden as he then pushes me back.

"Oh! I forgot, I wanted to get you a smoothie for the flight." After our first visit to the smoothie shack, Kendall and I made it our thing to do almost everyday before I had to leave, but it wasn't always just the two of us, I sometimes brought someone else but it was a memorable thing we always did.

"Oh gosh I forgot we didn't get to go today!"

"Can I get you one really quickly?" He asked hopefully. I turn around to see my parents, along with Tess and Nick who were coming home with us, as they were watching me as I said goodbye to everyone. My dad nods his head, obviously hearing what Kendall asks and we both smile at my dad as we both take each other's arms and hurry over to the smoothie shack that was around the corner.

Kendall quickly orders us smoothies, he got a strawberry flavored one and I got a banana and peach flavored one, we didn't have time to go all fancy since my flight was just about done boarding.

We thanked the person who made our smoothies and again Kendall paid. Well I guess it was his turn, after we started going to the smoothie shack a lot, we always would switch off who paid and I paid yesterday.

"Wow, I'm sure going to miss this." I say as I take Kendall's arm againa as we start to slowly, slower than when we walked to the smoothie place, to where everyone else was.

"I am too, but I'm mainly just going to miss you." Kendall says. I smile up at him and he smirks as he then tugs me over somewhere behind a pole and turns around and full on kisses me on the lips. I stand there frozen in place. I seriously thought we moved on from this, and I thought I clearly stated that I had a BOYFRIEND. But, again, same as before, I felt those sparks when our lips touched, the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up as I felt under my sweatshirt I was getting goose bumps.

He lets go of me slowly as he stares at me. I just looked completely shocked. I'm so confused with my emotions and then with what just happened I can't even formulate one sentence, not even a simple word.

"Please don't be mad. I just thought I'd get it out of my system since I'm not going to see you for a really long time and then I might have regretted it later and-" He was going to continue but then a sudden rush came over me and I pulled his shirt collar with two of my fingers so he was at my height level and I kissed him quickly and then pushed him back.

"You were rambling." I stated simply as he looked at me with his mouth open.

"Wait, what did you just do?"

"Honestly, I don't know, but all I know is that I don't regret it, and I probably would've regretted it too if I didn't do it."

"Wait, so what did that kiss mean, what's your excuse for this one?"

"There isn't an excuse, just a kiss, a kiss for the sake of kissing you."

"So, you mean…?"

"I don't know what I mean, all I know is that I feel something for you, something strong, but I don't know what that feeling is exactly. But all I know is that I have a boyfriend back at home waiting for me." I sigh. I know I didn't want to say it and I know he didn't want to hear it but I had to put that out there, we couldn't just ignore hat.

"Speaking of which, what are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know if I should."

"You're going to lie?"

"I don't know, I promise when I know, you'll be the first to know."

"Okay, but now I think we should get back or else your parents might send the airport police after us."

"Right." I say as I sigh as I give him one more quick hug which he returns. We walk back arm and arm.

"Took you guys long enough."

"Sorry, there were people in front of us who were really confused." Kendall says I look at him and can't help but sort of laugh a bit.

"Well, it's been real guys. Keep in touch, all of you, and I'll see you, when I see you I guess."

"Bye." Everyone says in unison. I pick up my stuff and sigh as I wave to everyone as I walk over to where my family and Tess and Nick are and my dad hands me my ticket as we go on line to get boarded. I give the lady my ticket and she scans it and I take it back and thank her.

I look back once more and smile at everyone, but my eyes then lock with Kendall's and I can feel the tingle that I got on my lips before come back, although not as great as before. I smile at him and feel a blush come across my face as I then turn around and walk onto the plane.

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><p>okay so a little long right? well hopefully it'll make up for the long wait you had to go through to finally read this, and so next chapter will probably be up by tomorrow, i hope, i don't have work to do and i'll basically be chilling all day so i should be able to get some stuff done. hope you enjoyed it and leave a comment, even if its anonymous i would deeply and truly appreciate it :) thanks again for the people who have liked and reviewed my story so far...GOOD NIGHT! 3 love you all<p> 


	6. Big Time Attention

hi, hey lookie here! i'm updating again! get psyched :) i don't know how long this is but hopefully you guys will like it, and thanks again to Dana8421, ljean433, and anonymous () for reviewing and making me awesome it's because of your constant support i keep writing. :) so i hope you all enjoy

oh and also i forgot to mention that i don't any song that gets played out in this story, so i don't own any songs by BTR or the songs Amber has sung like Paparazzi, Listen, or Dreamer, and for future songs as well, OH and i don't own the boys, :'(

ENJOY!

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><p>Chapter 5: Big Time Attention<p>

"Ow!" I complain as I feel the sharp shooting pain of the eyeliner pencil poke me in the eye.

"Well it wouldn't have hurt if you weren't fidgeting."

"I told you, I don't like people doing my eye makeup, I freak out."

"Yeah, but you have a shaky hand so you suck at putting your eye make up on." She says.

"Do not." I say as I cross my arms over my chest.

"Don't lie to me." Tess scolds me.

"Sorry…fine, I suck at doing my eyes, but if I had time to practice doing it, I wouldn't be bad at it."

"Please, even with all the practice in the world wouldn't improve your skills."

"Now that really lowered my self esteem a lot." I said, as I look her through the mirror.

"Oh please." She said as she rolled her eyes as if I was joking.

"Not kidding." I say looking at her directly now. She looked at me like she really insulted me.

"Psht." She says as she sees the small smile forming on my face as she pushes my face away. "Okay, I'm done, now no crying or anything and don't even think of touching your eyes. They're perfect."

"Wow, you've really out done yourself Tess."

"What can I say, I amaze myself sometimes." Tess says as she comes up behind me and looks in the mirror with me. "You look really good."

"Thanks." I said as she put her hands on my shoulders. She looked happy for a second but then her face contorted to one of confusion.

"You're shaking." She said suddenly. Crap.

"I know…" I said moving from where we were to the wardrobe.

"Why are you so nervous? You know your lines, you know your moves, props to me, and you have the music down. What's up?"

"You know me, I don't like attention." I said as I pushed more and more clothes out of the way as I looked for my costume. "God where's my costume?" I said aggravated.

"Uh, you're wearing it." She says. I look down and see my costume. God I'm a mess.

"You see? This is what happens when I'm nervous." I say as I tried rubbing a finger through my hair but remember I had a ton of hairspray in my head so I couldn't do it.

"Hey, don't be, I mean you're not the lead, think about how stressed out she must be."

"Yeah, but I still have a song at the very beginning of Act Two all to myself, and look what I'm wearing!" I sigh as I look down at the orange and white sports bra I was wearing and the jail colored orange pants I was wearing with white trainers.

"Don't worry you look good, working out for the past few months has really got your summer body a head of time. and besides, you should be pumped, you're introducing the second act, I'd be pumped." She said excitedly.

"No that's exactly the opposite feeling I have because for those 4 minutes and 20 seconds all eyes will be on me. Not to mention that during those agonizing minutes I'll be jumping rope and frozen in awkward positions and then I have dialogue after that and I'll be sweaty."

"You counted the minutes?"

"Of course I did."

"Oh yeah, look who I'm talking to, although with all the stage makeup you barely look like yourself."

"Yeah I know." I say as I look at my crazy hair and bright makeup.

"Hey, no worries, you just got to keep your mind in the scene, don't think of the crowd, just think of talking to Trish, well Elle Woods, and you'll do fine. Now go out there and make Ali Larter and Nikki Snelson jealous!" Tess said slapping my butt.

"Hey, curtain's in 10, let's get moving people!" I could hear the director of the play, our chaotic and stressed acting teacher and head of the drama club yell down the hall.

"Okay, I'm going to go to my seat and watch. If you get nervous, I'll be in the first row, center, look for me and you'll feel better."

"Okay, you're the best Tess."

"Don't I know it? Good luck!" She said choking me as her arms went around my neck in a hug.

"Thanks girlie!" I said pretending to be more excited than I really was. She runs out the door and I sigh as I plop down in my chair and look at myself again. I hear something rumble from my bag on the table. I did through the bag and pull out my iPhone. I click it on and look at the screen at the recent text I got.

_Hey, the guys and I wish you luck on the show tonight, you'll do great, make sure you send us a video._ Carlos' text said. It's unbelievable I've been able to keep in contact with them ever since I left LA over eight months ago. I smile at the memories of that summer. But then I hear someone knock on my door.

"I'll be out there soon!" I call out and I hear footsteps running away; God everyone's nervous!

_Thanks Carlos and to the rest of the guys as well, I'll think about sending it, I'm going to look pretty, well, provocative._ I say and leave it at that, which was a mistake because during intermission my phone had nine text messages asking me about what play I was doing and what exactly what I was doing on stage.

I laugh as I look through the messages, all from the guys, and I explain my character, Brooke Taylor-Windom and her "Whipped into Shape" song as best as I could in 10 minutes; thank God for group texting so I didn't have to text them individually. They thankfully understood and then egged me on further to send them the video; they're such boys.

Anyway the second act was in five and I had to get to the sides to prepare for my big opening number. I checked to make sure the guy who hands me my orange jacket has it on the other side of the stage, he does, good. Then I walk back and go to my dancing group and they're pumped and wish me good luck and make me feel a bit better and for a bit my nerves were calming down.

But of course I got nervous again when Trish, who plays the lead, looks out at the audience and tells me to look with her and I see everyone returning to their seats and I get jitters again. Tess thankfully sees me poking my head out and she mouths "Breathe!" and so I breathe and I go back to the sides and get ready as the lights fade and the curtains were coming up.

I got into my character immediately, one full of pep and energy, which isn't really like me but I work with it because my sister is going to be a cheerleader when she's older and has been practicing and not to mention some of my new friend I've made at Yale are cheerleaders. So I think of them and pray that I'm making them proud, since they're all out there, watching me…

(spoken) Hi, I'm Brooke Windham and welcome back

to the Windham Workout Disk 2 Challenge and our daily commitment to being

the best that we can be! (YEAH!)

So grab your Cardio Whip 5000,

cause if you want to get ripped, you've gotta get whipped.

(sung) Do you want an easy miracle?

Do you want to lose a pound or two?

Then you can turn this off right now

My workout's not for you

I'm talking to the woman who wants it all

Gotta pay for what you get

Cause size 2 clothes don't come to those

Too lazy to sweat

I want you whipped into shape

When I say jump, say "How high?"

You'll know you're doing it right

When you start to cry

If you don't look like you should

You've got to whip it, whip it, whip it good

I'm sorry, ladies, no escape

Til you're whipped into shape!

(spoken) Come on, Sabrina, you heifer! Work it out!

SABRINA

(spoken) I hate you, Brooke! And I love you for it!

Whipped into sh-

ELLE

(spoken) Hey, why'd you pause it?

CALLAHAN

(spoken) We have a lot to cover.

(sung) Meet our brand new client, Brooke

You can laugh, but she's made tons

Off her DVDs and book

"Whip Your Way to Tighter Buns"

Happily married, so she swears

To her sixty-year-old stud

Til stepdaughter came downstairs

And found Brooke all covered in his blood

If Brooke took a plea

I'd have her out in 3 to 4

But she claims she did not kill him

WARNER

Did she?

CALLAHN

Let's watch some more

BROOKE

But it's more than just a workout

It's a defensive weapon too

Simply wrap it round your assailant's neck

And pull 'til he turns blue

You can also use the patented handle grip

To shatter your attacker's spine

And all for three small payments of

$19.99!

You'll have him whipped into shape

When you get grief from a guy

Just work him over with this

Til he starts to cry

If he don't act like he should

You've got to whip it, whip it, whip it good

It gets you out of any scrape

It gets you whipped into shape

(spoken) Come on, people!

DANCERS

Whipped into shape!

BROOKE

(spoken) What does not kill us makes us hotter!

CALLAHAN

(spoken) Hands? Who thinks she's guilty?

(sung) Okay, now here is where you kids come in

Brooke has trouble trusting me

I'm her only chance to win

But I don't speak MTV

Though Brooke won't help her own defense

She may listen to her peers

Go and place a little sense

In the space between her ears

ELLE

(spoken) I'm a Delta N-

CALLAHAN

(spoken) Not now.

(sung)I want her whipped into shape

If there's a brain in that hair

Tell it that I am the key

It's a plea or the chair

See when I talk to her I

Get neither plea nor plan nor alibi

To quote from our defendant's tape

I want her whipped into shape

(spoken) TO THE JAIL!

BROOKE

(spoken) Ladies, just because we're at Boston Women's Correctional Facility does not mean we can't become the best that we can be! HERE WE GO!

Circle! Circle! Under! Over! Through! Around! Again! Good!

Circle! Circle! Under! Over! Through! Around!

All right, ladies, we can't break out of here, but we sure can break a sweat!

Left! Right! Left! Right! Good!

DANCERS

Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right!

WORK IT OUT!

EVERYONE

(sung) I want you whipped into shape

When I say jump, say "How high?"

You know you're doing it right

When you start to cry

If you don't look like you should

You've got to whip it, whip it, whip it good

BROOKE

Like prison, ladies, no escape

Til you're whipped into shape!

Whip it! Whip it!

BROOKE

Whipped into shape

DANCERS

Whip it! Whip it!

BROOKE

Swipe it! Swipe it! Swipe it through! Check it out! Double jump!

DANCERS

Swipe it! Swipe it! Swipe it through! Check it out! Double jump!

BROOKE

That's right! YOU'VE GOT IT!

EVERYONE

Whip it!

Whip it!

Whip it!

Get whipped into shape!

We end in our poses and I'm on top of the table with my fist held high in the air. Everyone goes crazy over the performance and I see Tess screaming and jumping like a crazy person and I see my other friends out there near Tess cheering along with her and I even hear immature dog whistling. I felt so much better that it was over.

Everything else in the scene flowed smoothly and when we did our bows and I got to bow by myself, I saw a group of girls and some guys get up in the front and cheer like crazy, I start laughing and then I get a bouquet of flowers thrown at me and I catch it and say thanks before going to my spot in our lines as everyone else bows.

We all take our group bow and we wave goodbye as the curtain draws down in front of us slowly. Everyone backstage all wants to cheer loudly but we know we have to quick and get back to our dressing rooms and get changed and walk outside. I unfortunately have to change into my old outfit; the jail outfits, since that's what people remember me by the most. So I zip up the jacket so that I'm not revealing anything I don't want to be revealed. I grab my phone that suddenly vibrates in my hand.

_HEY! You haven't been answering, are you almost done yet? _ I get an impatient text from James in our group inbox. Of course he's being impatient. Well excuse me I was bit busy.

_Sorry your highness, I was bit busy ON STAGE. And it's finally over!_ I then take a picture of myself with my phone of me smiling and holding a bouquet of flowers. I send it to them and it doesn't take long to get a message back.

_Whoa! Is that you? _I get a shocked message from Logan.

_Yes, props to Tess for doing my makeup. She's got magical hands. Now I got to go, I have to do meet and greets with the crowd. Bye for now!_ I replied, as I proceeded to put my phone in my boot, ignoring all other messages. As I walk out of my dressing room and run into Trish.

"Oh my God! You were amazing!" She says to me. "And look at those roses, they're beautiful!"

"Thanks! And what are we talking about me for? YOU blew everyone away!" I say as I crush her in a hug.

"Thank you, but you're performance was got everyone pumped for the last act and got the liveliness in the room to increase at least by 200%."

"You flatter me too much. Now come on, let's go greet our fans." I say as I wrap the arm that wasn't the holding the flowers around Trish's shoulders and she does the same. We walk and talk and meet up with the rest of the cast as we stand in front of doors.

We count to three and we burst through the doors and the crowd waiting outside the doors erupts in applause as they all start congratulating us all at once on a job well done. I got thanks from people I didn't even know, and I felt so honored. Then I see my friends standing on chairs looking out for me, and it didn't take them very long since I was wearing bright orange. They yell at me and I see them and walk over as I get tackled into the biggest group hug.

Everyone starts talking at once and I try my best to reply to everyone. We just stood there for a few minutes talking about the show and everyone was asking how I was able to sing my song "Whipped into Shape" and jump rope at the same time. I felt so relaxed now until I saw someone I recognized who I haven't seen in a while come over to the circle.

"Amber, can I speak to you quickly?" He says.

"Sure thing Andrew." I say. I walk away from my friends I'd be right back and walk over to Andrew, he's my agent, I know, isn't that cool? I've had him around since my junior year in high school. He's the one who introduced me to the Project Star-catcher program that I did over the summer.

"What's up?" I ask as he pulled me over to the side.

"Do you know how many people were in the audience tonight?"

"Uhm I don't know, I heard it was sold out."

"Right, and guess how many people out there were there to see you?"

"Okay, what's with all the questions?"

"Look," He says as he whirls me around as I see people wearing suits gathering around one another with pens and papers on small clipboards as they were all talking about something rather serious. "Do you know who those guys are?"

"Uh, should I?"

"No, but you will now, those are scouts. People who flew out to come see tonight's show because of all the buzz about it."

"Seriously?"

"No joke. And I was casually sitting behind them and I heard some talking about you in particular, and as well as your friend Trish."

"NO. WAY." I say as I whirl around and look at him as if he was joking.

"Don't give me that look, would I lie about this sort of thing?"

"You did on April Fools last year."

"Yeah okay whatever, I don't care if it's April, it's not the first and I'm telling the truth. This is serious, some of those guys are from LA."

"LA?" I ask.

"Yup. And one in particular has a special eye on you. I suggest going to talk to him."

"Okay, when?" I ask a little antsy.

"Now, because here he comes."

"What?" I gasp.

"Good luck, do exactly as we practiced. Be natural and breathe, please don't forget to do that."

"Okay." And once I said that he runs away and I turn around to come face to face with a tall, almost intimidating man who looked down at me.

"You're Amber Riordan right?" The man asked in a nice voice. Okay, so although he looked intimidating and scary, at least he sounded nice.

"Uh, yup, that's me. It's nice to meet you Mister…" I ask feeling awful I don't know his name.

"I'm a representative for a music industry in LA." He responds. Not helpful.

"Oh." I say, indicating for him to continue talking, which he does.

"I was told to check you out by my superior, and I'm glad that I did, you've really got talent that our company would be lucky to have."

"What company is this exactly?" I ask curiously.

"I work for Rocque Records." He says. Hm, wait, WHAT?

"Oh, I've heard of it." I say trying to keep my cool as I'm still dumbfounded by the fact that he was from Rocque Records, the same studios I was trapped in when I was in LA over the summer, where I made the best friendships in my whole life.

"So, I'm here to ask if you would like to come to LA and meet with the producer, of course once you're school year has ended and you keep up your grades."

"I, I would love to. I mean," I stutter. "I would have to ask my parents permission first though."

"Of course, I was going to meet with them right after I was through talking with you. Are they here tonight?"

"Oh, yeah, they said they were going to be by the front door when I was cleaned up and out of costume."

"I'll go meet with them now then as you get out of character, if that's alright?"

"Of course, sure thing." I say as I look behind him at the front door and see my parents along with Dillon and Jordyn standing around the door as they were talking with another family. "They're right over there." I say as I turn him around and I point him in the direction of the doors.

"Alright then, nice meeting you Ms. Riordan."

"Nice to meet you too." I say as I shake his hand, wow he had a strong shake. I smile up at him and I watch as he walks over to my family casually. I keep staring until I'm shaken from my thoughts when Andrew rushes over again.

"WELL?" He says.

"OH GOD! I need to get out of this!" I say as I run past him.

"Wait!" Andrew calls after me.

"I tell you about everything later or just go to my parents." I yell over my shoulder as I run back to the doors I just entered from. I run past my friends excitedly but then one of them, of course that one being Tess, stopped me as she pulled on my baggy orange jacket.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tess says as she keeps a death grip on my shoulder and another on the bottom of my pants.

"Not. Now. I need to go change, now." I say as I grit my teeth.

"Whoa, what's got you so worked up?" My friend Vera asked.

"I just got through talking with a scout from Rocque Records saying he and the company's interested in me, ME." I say excitedly. Tess lets go of me as stares at me with her mouth slightly agape as my other friends were bouncing up and down.

"Wow, that's awesome!" My other friend Joshua says congratulating me.

"Whoa, you mean like Rocque Records, like with Big Time Rush?"

"Yeah, I might get to see the boys again!" I say cheerfully.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" My friend Georgia asks totally mystified. I never told anyone that I met the boys over the summer so the fact I just blurted that out was a mistake.

"Uh, oh look at the time, got to go and change! Bye!" I yell over my shoulder, thankfully Tess stops my BTR obsessed friend Georgia from following, partially why I never told her about it, she's their biggest fan.

I push past people as I head to my dressing room, pointlessly apologizing to people. I slam the door shut in my changing room, I strip off my costume and get into the clothes I wore when I got here, I then start getting a call from someone. I pick up the phone without looking at the caller ID thinking it was Andrew asking me where I was.

"Don't worry about me I'll be there in a second, God Andrew you're really annoying?"

"Uh, Amber…?" The voice said on the other side of the line. The problem was it didn't sound like a worried or stressed Andrew.

"Wait, what?" I say as I then take the phone away from my ear and look at the caller ID, it was Kendall.

"Kendall," I breathe out surprised. I haven't heard his voice in a while. "Sorry I thought you were-" I was going to say more but then he cut me off.

"Your boyfriend?" He asked awkwardly. The mention of him just hurt me and I didn't respond for a second since I wanted to keep the lid of my emotions still sealed on tight.

"No," I sigh as I take a shaky breath. "Andrew's the name of my agent. Anyway, what are you calling for?" Trying to compose myself, I didn't have time to be upset over something little.

"Obviously to know how the show went." Kendall states.

"It went very well thank you very much, the crowd really loved the show and I had a great time."

"Were you stressing?" Logan asks.

"Nah…" I say as casually as I could but then I hear someone, probably Carlos laughing in the background sarcastically. "Okay maybe a bit." I say truthfully which earns giggles from the rest of the gang. "Anyway I really got to go, a scout is here to talk to me."

"What?" They all say.

"I know right, I'm getting goose bumps!" I say as I rub the arm holding my phone.

"Hey, congratulations, is that where you headed to right now?" James asks although his words were kind of sloppy, he sounded like he was eating something, I guess he wasn't here for the beginning part of the conversation.

"Yeah so I really, really need to go." I say begging for them to let me go.

"Okay." Kendall says and he was probably going to say more but I hear some shuffling and some static until someone new was talking, or rather, yelling.

"But you better tell us everything about it later okay?" Carlos yells into the phone so loud I have to hold the phone away from me.

"I will but seriously I have to go, I'm approaching as we speak."

"'Kay, good luck!" They chime together.

"Thank you guys, bye." I hang up and take a few more steps and I'm standing next to Andrew, who's next to my family, who's in deep conversation with the representative.

"Ah, Ms. Amber." The representative says. "Now that you're here, let's continue this conversation at your dorm, lees public."

"That sounds fine with me." I say. We leave it at that and my parents and I pile into our car with Andrew (we have an Toyota Highlander) as we lead the representative to our house.

"Do you realize what just happened?" Andrew whispered to me.

"Yeah, I know, I can't believe this is happening." I whisper back to him, although I could tell that Jordyn who was directly in front of me heard me.

"Who was that man daddy?" Jordyn asked.

"Well Jordyn, that was a man who works for a music company that is interested in Amber." Dad explains to her.

"They want to work with Amber?" Dillon pipes up from in front of where I was sitting in the back of the car with Andrew.

"That's right, our little teenager is growing up and getting job opportunities." My mom said almost sounding like she was about to cry.

"Aw mom don't cry, we have to see the rep. after this."

"You're right, I'll keep it together, but only until after he leaves."

"That's all I ask."

"Now this is very important, you realize if your parents agree to this, you'll be leaving college and moving out to LA right?" Andrew asked me. That's right…if I do end up impressing this guy and he signs me up, then I have to fly out to LA and probably stay there a long time, maybe even end up moving there.

"I know…this is HUGE." I sigh.

"And I know how much you've missed being in LA, so don't screw this up."

"Wow, what a great pep talk, thanks so much Andrew." I say sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm just telling it to you how it is, I mean how are you going to see the boys again?" He whispers in my ear.

"Don't remind me…I was talking to them before about the play. God I've really missed seeing them."

"Don't you video chat or whatever?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same as seeing them in person." I sigh as I think about what I was like to really hang out with the guys. My mind immediately rushes back to the memories I had when we all went bowling and it my friends and I against the boys and it was a lot of fun. "If I could see them, even end up working with them, that would be…"

"A dream come true?" Dillon asks from the front seat as he and Jordyn turn around to face me at the same time.

"Maybe." I say as I then rest my hand on the ledge of the car as I look out the window.

"You're such a dreamer." Andrew said nudging me.

"What can I say? I have big dreams, and to think they're slightly possible that they might become my new reality is just so astonishing."

"Well, we're here." My dad calls from the front seat. We all pile out of the car and my mom helps me out as she then tackles me into a hug.

"What's this for?" I ask her confused.

"I just want to hold on to my baby girl a bit more, that's all."

"Aw mom." I say as I return the hug. We stay like that until I see the rep. coming up the walkway to my dorm and I tap my mom's shoulder telling her to let go and she does and starts fixing my hair.

"Sorry for interrupting." The man says politely.

"That's alright, we should just continue in." I say as my mom and I lead the man to the door where my dad and kid siblings were waiting for me to pull out my card to swipe so we could enter the building.

I swipe the key and the door clicks and I open it for everyone. We walk up a flight of stairs, and walk down the narrow-ish hallway until we reach the room I share with Tess and our friends Georgia and Vera who were at the play tonight.

"Welcome to my room." It was very spacious and larger than most dorms that people see, we had an open area with a few couches surrounding a television, we had a mini fridge, a microwave on top of it, and then we had rooms going off to both sides of the room where Tess and I shared and Georgia and Vera shared the other room.

"Now, let's get started." The man said as we all scattered ourselves around the couches set up, well except the representative in the larger chair. And that's how I got signed up with Rocque Records. I was going to see the guys again, but did that mean I was going to work with Gustavo, the rep. never mentioned who exactly wanted me, I'm pretty sure Mr. Griffin from before had plenty of other producers on his music team.

So I went home after second semester of school ended, I say goodbye to all the new friends I met at Yale. They all wished me the best and I had a huge sleepover with all my girlfriends the night before. It was a great way to end my experience at college and move on to the next step in my life.

"It's hard to believe you're going back to LA, but this time you're not coming back." My dad says to me as he puts his hands on my shoulder as my family and I along with Andrew are standing in front of my gateway in Logan Airport.

"Aw, I'll visit, when I can, and you can come up you know, there's no law against it, and I'll always make sure to keep in touch and give you daily or almost daily emails."

"And that's all we ask for." My dad says as we share an embrace. "You're going to have a great time. I'm so proud of you, did you know that?"

"I did since you tell me everyday." I chuckled as I buried my face into his chest. He let go of me and ruffled my hair.

"Now no changing yourself alright, just because you're going to be across the country doesn't mean when we show up that you're allowed to be a completely different person, alright?"

"No turning into Ke$ha, got it."

"That a girl." He says as we both laugh and share another hug.

"Aw sweetie. You've grown up so quickly, you're blossomed into a beautiful little rose. I couldn't be happier for you."

"Thanks mom, I really appreciate that." We hug each other and that's when we both start crying a bit, of course her more than me.

"Come here." I say as I finally let go of my mom and kneel down to get hugs from my siblings.

"Bring me back a souvenir."

"Of course that's the first thing you say to me before I leave."

"If you meet Zac Efron, tell him I love him and that I say hi, okay Amby?"

"Okay Jordyn I'll make sure to do that." I say as I tickle her stomach and she giggles. She then wraps her arms around my neck.

"I'll miss you being around."

"You can always email me. Just ask mom or dad whenever you miss me to send an email to me."

"Okay." She starts to tear up a bit and it almost broke my heart to see it. I quickly wipe the tears as they start trickling down her little sugar plum cheeks. I even start crying myself and I wipe my eyes on my sleeve.

"Okay, it's time to start your big journey." Andrew says as he hand me my plane ticket.

"Thanks for everything Andrew, this wouldn't have been possible without you. You're the best."

"So I've been told." He says as I give him a hug, he tenses at first but then relaxes a bit and hugs me back.

"I'm gonna miss you squirt." He says as he ruffles my hair and I poke him in the stomach. "Whenever you need help or you're in a pickle and feel like you need my awesome and wise expertise, don't be afraid to call okay?"

"Yes sir." I say as I jokingly put my hand to my head and salute him and we both laugh. I look back at my family and we all join in a huge group hug.

"I love you guys." I whisper as I then let go of them and pick up my carry on and sling it over my shoulders. I go up to the line and wait for the flight attendant to scan my ticket; I turn back and blow a small kiss at my family. My dad jokingly catches it and places it on his heart. I smile at how cheesy he is and I see it's my turn and I hand the lady my ticket and I thank her and go through the jet way with my parents and my siblings with Andrew waving goodbye.

I sigh as I look for my seat and I'm thankful to find I'm sitting by myself and by the window. I throw my bag under my seat and plop into my seat.

This is it. I'm going to LA. I have a car there waiting for me and there will be someone holding up a sign with my name on it. It's actually starting; my dream of being a singer is actually going to start today. I sigh again as I hear the pilot of our plane announce that we're on line for take off. I buckle up and get my iPhone out so when I'm allowed to put on music I can.

I feel the plane lift off the ground and I say goodbye to my beautiful city below. I hear the pilot talk again and from what I can actually hear with my ears still popping, I'm allowed to put my music on. I wait impatiently as my iPhone finally turns on and I put my iPod on shuffle and the first song that plays is Famous by Big Time Rush. How fitting I think as I relax in my chair and I soon fell asleep.

I was awoken from my slumber when I felt someone poking my shoulder. It was a flight attendant saying I had to bring my seat up for landing. We were landing already? Wow that was quick, everything's happening much quicker it seems.

The landing was a bit rough as I felt my stomach rock back and forth in my stomach a bit, but I ignore the sick feelings and get up quickly as I wait for the line in front of me to decrease as I got out of my seat and walked off the plane. I headed where everyone was headed, since I've never been on a plane by myself before, well not across the country. I was on a plane by myself once technically when I went to camp in Mississippi. But that's way different from this.

I go and wait by the conveyer belt as I saw both my bright blue bags next to each other, thankfully, and picked it up with ease and I towed them with me down the narrow isle as I looked for my name on a white sign. I scanned the signs, I didn't see it yet, then I saw a nice looking man at the end of the line, literally at the end with the name "Amber Riley" written on it. Of course they used the name Mr. Griffin wanted me to change it to.

"Hello, you must be Ms. Riley."

"Yes that's me." I sigh as I smile at him and shake his hand.

"Would you like me to take one of your bags? They look awfully big for just you to carry."

"That'd be great thank you." I say as I hand him one of my identical blue suitcases.

"Right this way." He says as I follow him out of the LAX exit and walk through the parking lot until he stops in front of a nice white car.

"This is our ride?"

"Yes, you're not satisfied?"

"Oh no, I love it, it's very nice."

"Why thank you Miss." He says as he finished putting my first bag into the trunk, he holds out his hand to take my second bag and I roll it to him. he takes it and places it next to it and firmly closes the trunk. "Now, let's get a move on, I was told I was to deliver you to Rocque Records immediately."

"Wait, aren't I supposed to go to my hotel before I start working?"

"Sorry Miss, direct orders from the boss, you'll be dropped off at Rocque Records and then I'm to deliver your bags to the Palm Woods, where you'll be staying during your time in sunny LA, and they'll take your bags to your room."

"Alright then, let's get today started then."

"Don't forget to change your clocks. LA is three hours behind Boston time."

"Right." I say as I quickly change my wristwatch. He then opens the door for me and I thank him as he closes the door behind me and he crawls into the front seat. He backs out and we're on the highway, going to the studios.

I feel a rumble in my stomach and I look down at the sweatshirt I was wearing and pull out my phone that was in the front pocket. I look at it and see I had two missed calls and three messages, of course all from my mother.

_Hi mom, sorry I didn't reply earlier, our flight was delayed since there was traffic before landing. Don't worry I'm safe and off to the recording studio._ I text her.

_What? You're not stopping off at the hotel first?_ She asks, I could almost hear her annoyed voice.

_Apparently the producer wanted to see me immediately._ I text my mom back.

_All right, you have fun on your first day and good luck with everything; tell us how your room is when you get there. _She replies probably sighing.

_Sure thing. Love you_ I text and I leave it at that when the driver says we've arrived. I thank the man and give him a nice tip for helping me. He smiles at me and tips his hat off to me and then gets back in the car. I take my carry on I kept with me while sitting and adjusted it on my shoulder as I looked up at the very familiar looking building I was at less than a year ago.

I sigh as I think about my life coming up, I was probably going to be here quite a lot. I got the chills just thinking about it. I decide not to think about it any further since I was just awkwardly standing there as people passed me by. I adjust myself and start my way towards the door. I walk through the double doors with the famous RR insignia on it. I look around, everything's exactly as it was when I was here last, I felt comfortable already.

As I looked around, I saw someone from the corner of my eye approaching me. I probably looked weird, a teenager with a bag over her shoulder in sweats wandering around the first floor of a recording studio. I sigh as I turn around to face the beginning of a lecture but I'm surprised who I see in front of me.

"Good to see you again Amber."

"Kelly? Wait so you're here, looking for me?"

"Yup, Gustavo is waiting for you upstairs."

"So he _is_ going to be my producer."

"What? Were you expecting someone else?"

"Well I didn't know exactly who to expect, the guy never said who the producer was who wanted to meet with me. So I just thought there were other producers besides Gustavo."

"Nope, he's the one and only one for Rocque Records and he wanted to sign you up after hearing you were going to be in Legally Blonde at your school which was getting quite a buzz after you posted some rehearsals on you Tube World Page."

"So I'm guessing he liked it."

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. That video got a lot of attention."

"Did it, it only I think reached a thousand, maybe." I say as I try recalling when the last time I was on Tube World. It's been a while with school piling up with work so quickly at points; stupid research papers.

"Yeah but that thousand people were pretty big people who were interested in you and your friends that played Paulette and Elle. Gustavo had to put up a big fight to get you on his team."

"Wow, I feel honored." I say bashfully

"So let's get moving and we'll discuss what's going on." Kelly says.

"Alright then, please lead the way." I say signaling her to get in front of me and lead me to wherever we were meeting with Gustavo she laughs lightheartedly and we walk into an elevator. We go up a few floors and we walk out and to a meeting room that I've never been to before.

Kelly opens the door for me and I already hear a loud voice saying,

"Amber! Welcome back to LA! How was your flight?" Gustavo's voice booms through the room.

"Uh, good." I say as I finally facing forward. I was taken back by his sudden kindness.

"That's great, now are you ready to become the next big thing?"

"I think I am."

"Not with that attitude. You have to be confident. You have to be bold and rock 'n roll ready!"

"Okay, so how do I get 'rock 'n roll ready'?"

"First, you need a good song, and then you need good moves and styles."

"Of course…" I say as I pretended to know exactly what he was talking about.

"Okay, so lets to the studio and start."

"So no sitting down and discussing my future."

"With me, you won't need to worry about those details."

"Should I be worried about letting him hold the key to my future?" I whisper to Kelly.

"I sure hope not. You are the first girl he's ever worked with. So overall it should be an interesting experience."

"I'm the first, ever?" I said rather shocked.

"Well he did work with Nicole Scherzinger." Kelly recalls.

"From the Pussycat dolls?" I ask. I love Nicole!

"Yup, but they had, 'creative differences'." She said as she uses air quotes.

"Gotcha." I said. Gustavo was waiting for us at the other side of the room. "Okay, let's go record."

"Good, because I already have been working on some songs."

"Alright, let's see if they're hits or not."

"Oh, they will be." Gustavo says in a deep voice that creeps me out. I shrug it off as I follow him down to the recording studios. I enter the booth while he and Kelly stay behind the glass. I look at the sheet music that was already sitting on the stands in front of me. I look down at it and read the title. "Naturally", interesting name, I wonder what it's about.

"Okay, so we're going to start with the first song you're holding and we're going to see how you feel about it okay?"

"Okay."

"And keep an open mind."

"I'll do my best…" I said as optimistically as I could.

"Okay, whenever you're ready you can start." Gustavo says. I read over the lyrics a bit and start to not like it, hopefully that'll change when I sing it. I sigh and nod in his direction. The music starts blasting in my headphones as I place them over my ears.

How you choose to express yourself

It's all your own and I can tell

It comes naturally

It comes naturally

You follow what you feel inside

It's intuitive, you don't have to try

It comes naturally

It comes naturally

And it takes my breath away

What you do so naturally

You are the thunder and I am the lightning

And I love the way you

Know who you are and to me it's exciting

When you know it's meant to be

Everything comes naturally; it comes naturally

When you're with me, baby

Everything comes naturally; it comes naturally

Bay-bay-baby

"Okay, if I have to keep singing this, I will puke." I say as I pretend to gag.

"Excuse me? Are you dissin' my song, _my_ genius?" Gustavo says.

"Uh, yeah, I think I am. Look I'm not feeling it, I can't sing a song I don't feel."

"Fine, fine. Look at the next one." He says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Okay." I look at the first few lines and I scowl at the page and then at Gustavo. "Okay, so far, NO."

"Just try it at least! It won't kill you." He says as he throws him arms up.

"Actually, it just might." He gives me this super duper angry look that almost has me scared, so I just roll my eyes and look down at the sheet and wait for my cue to start singing to come in.

Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend

No way, no way, I think you need a new one

Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend

Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me

No way, no way, you know it's not a secret

Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend

"No, no, and NO!" I scream the last part into the microphone to get my point across.

"Why I ought a…" Gustavo says as he's rising in his chair but Kelly is thankfully holding him back, I would've probably been more scared but since there's a Plexiglas screen between us, I knew I wasn't going to get hurt.

"Just try the next song, hmm? Maybe that one might be better." Kelly says as she tries to calm him down a bit.

"Whatever you say Kelly. Play it."

"Don't tell me what to do, I'm the producer, you're my little puppy dog."

"Don't call me that…" I almost hiss. The pet name just sort of opened up wounds that I didn't want to start bleeding again. Without another word, the music starts and I wait for my turn to sing.

Hurry up and wait

So close, but so far away

Everything that you've always dreamed of

Close enough for you to taste

But you just can't touch

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet

Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it

You know you can if you get the chance

In your face as the door keeps slamming

Now you're feeling more and more frustrated

And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting

[Chorus:]

We live and we learn to take

One step at a time

There's no need to rush

It's like learning to fly

Or falling in love

It's gonna happen when it's

Supposed to happen and we

Find the reasons why

One step at a time

"Well?" Gustavo asks impatiently when I didn't continue the song.

"It's, better…but…" I say as I contemplate on the meaning of the song. I look up at him and then look at Kelly who looks like she's praying for me to approve.

"But WHAT?" Gustavo exasperates.

"It's still not me, not my voice." I say.

"YOUR voice is only supposed to be spewing out the words I give you. NOT have an opinion." Gustavo yells. I have my mouth slightly agape and when he sees that he looks slightly satisfied with himself. Well that was until I take off my headphones and slam them down on the ground and walk out of the studio and right up to him.

"If a singer can't have their own voice, what's the point of singing anything?"

"THE POINT IS, it makes money that I get credit for and what makes my boss, as well as your boss, happy." Gustavo barks at me.

"Well then go tell OUR boss that he needs to find a better songwriter!" I yell.

"I am the songwriter!" Gustavo yells.

"My Point Exactly!" And so from there we were throwing remarks back and forth like cannon balls on a battlefield and it even got escalated to the point when Kelly had to place herself in between us to stop us from completely killing each other.

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on?" a new voice enters the room. The three of us stop mid battling it out and look to the direction of the door where the voice came from. Making their way from the doorway to inside the recording booth were four guys, very good looking, tall, familiar boys.

"Guys?" I ask in complete shock. I had a feeling I was going to run into them eventually when I recognized Rocque Records, but this soon and right now, well I was a little taken back I guess.

"Wait, do we know you?" The pretty one, aka James Diamond, asks.

"Wow, has it seriously been that long that you don't remember me?"

"How about a hint?" Logan asks hopefully.

"Okay, Carlos, I was just texting you the other day and you said that I made you laugh so hard smoothie chunks were coming out of your nose." He looks at me confused for a second then looks off to the side like he was having a flashback. Then he sort of jumps in the air in realization and tackles me in a hug to the point he lifted me off the ground and was shaking me.

"Wait, you're here? Why, how?" He asked quickly as he put me down suddenly and I had to regain my balance.

"Yes, I'm here, why, because I got signed on by Gustavo, and I took a plane and then a car here." I explained.

"I've missed you!" He says as he gives me a bear hug so that my face was squished into his chest, which was firmer than I thought it would be.

"Thank Carlitos, I've missed you too." I say as I relax into the hug.

"Uh, Carlos? Care to explain?" Kendall asks.

"Guys! It's Amber." Carlos says excitedly as he gives me a hug from behind and I lean back into the hug. They look at me for a second as they all tilt their heads in unison, and at the same time again they go all bug eyed.

"Amber, like _Amber_, Amber?" Logan stutters to say.

"Well yeah unless you know another Amber." I say sheepishly.

* * *

><p>well that was fun wasn't it? okay so it was a little shorter than the previous chapter i've written this one was 9700 words, i mean the last chapter broke 13000 so theres a difference, anyway, i hoped you like it, tell me what you thought, and if you have any ideas for what is to happen next, let me know, i mean i have plans until the movie, but new ideas are always welcome :) bye for now LOVE YOU ALL!<p> 


	7. Big Time Conflicts pt 1

Hi guys, sorry i haven't updated in a while, i had such writer's block, and there was originally more to this chapter but i just can't find myself to writing it now since now i've changed it and i don't want you guys to wait any longer, so i decided to just send you guys this much, sorry again and i hope you enjoy! :) i'll try updating tomorrow and maybe sunday, i'll see how my schedule is

i don't own BTR but i own Amber and plot line to this story, OH and just a heads up, after the second part to this chapter, i'll be going into the episodes from the shows, so just a mini spoiler, after part 2, i'll be starting at ep 2 of season 2, Big Time Fans, but of course it won't be exactly what you see from the show, so STAY TUNED!

* * *

><p><strong>Big Time Conflict: Part 1<strong>

"Amber!" The rest of the guys say in unison as they all at once decided to give me a huge group hug.

"What are you doing here?" James asks.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kendall asks too.

"Did you ever get that email about the Lunar Eclipse?" Logan asks randomly.

"Like I said, I got signed on by Gustavo, I didn't realize he was signing me on so I didn't have reason to tell you, and I _did_ get the email but I missed it since I got a night flight here."

"So, this means…" James starts saying as I decide to finish up his thought.

"I'm moving to the Palm Woods." I say as I smile a little bit.

"You're staying at the Palm Woods?" Kendall asks a little shocked, which I found interesting, I mean aren't all upcoming stars supposed to stay at the Palm Woods when they arrive in LA? But I ignore it as everyone keeps talking.

"We live there!" Carlos says happily.

"I know, I was there, remember?" I say as I poke him in the stomach.

"This is great!" James says as he gives me a hug.

"You finally get to live your dream." Kendall says.

"How's it feel?" Logan asks. I get out of James' embrace that he decided to keep going a bit longer than it probably should have and think about everything.

"Uh, I don't know a little overwhelming, like all the questions you're throwing at me to answer."

"Sorry…" They say sheepishly and I giggle at their behavior.

"Okay, enough of this buddy-buddy nonsense. We need to work."

"Uh, no, I'm not working on another song until you stop writing about love."

"What do you have against love songs?" He yells at me.

"Nothing, I just don't feel it." I say trying to avoid a real answer.

"But you have a boyfriend don't you?" James asks.

"Yeah, you should be able to sing love songs easily." Logan agrees. Kendall says nothing and I see Carlos from the corner of my eye giving the guys warning looks that they see but don't understand.

"No. No I don't." I sigh.

"Wait, what?" James, Logan, and Kendall say in unison.

"That's what I was trying to tell you." Carlos says as he smacked James across the stomach.

"Wait, you _knew_ and you didn't tell us?" Kendall asks sounding angry.

"It wasn't my place to say." Carlos says defensively.

"How long have you known?" James asks.

"Since she told me." He says, not wanting to say much, which I mentally thanked him for doing. The rest of the guys were being much too nosey.

"And _when_ was that?" Logan asked.

"Three months ago." I speak up shyly as I push my sleeves down my arms, suddenly feeling cold and quite uncomfortable.

"Oh." Logan says. "But,"

"I didn't want to tell you guys, Carlos only knew because he was trying to text me on the day I ended it with, Lukas." I sigh as I say his name; I haven't talked about him in person in a really long time. I take a shaky breath and continue saying, "but I wasn't answering and he called a lot and I still didn't answer.

But I decided to listen to a voicemail he left me and he sounded very panicked and I didn't want to worry him so I said I just wasn't up for talking, which is very out of character for me, so Carlos was being protective and slightly nosey as he got me to talk more and then I got his SYF account and we video chatted because I couldn't explain what happened in pure texting. So I vented and Carlos here," I said looking at him as I smiled and he smiled comfortingly back at me. "Really was a big help and comforted me for the next few days. And I started feeling better, but it's still a touchy spot for me." I said as I wrapped my arms around my body, well not until Carlos walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my back and rubbed my back as I wrapped my arms around his head and just put my head in the crook of his neck.

"Thanks Carlos, God I've missed your hugs." I say as I laugh although it comes out a bit shaky. I didn't even realize I was shedding some tears until Carlos let go of me and was using his thumbs to wipe them away as they fell down my cheeks.

"It's alright. Whenever you want to talk, I'll be here for you, okay?"

"Okay." I said as I went back in for another hug, which he happily returned.

"Wow, this is going to be much harder than I thought." I heard Gustavo say from behind me. "I need to write a break up song now."

"No, you don't _need_ to write a break up song because I broke up with my ex-boyfriend, just don't write a love song, not for a while, if that's too much to ask."

"I'll do my best, although I'm known for my awesome love songs." Gustavo boasts.

"So I've heard." I said as I eyed the guys as they just chuckled a bit.

"Okay, how about you go to the Palm Woods so I can work for on some new music and then I'll send Kelly to get you when I'm pretty much ready." Gustavo says.

"Okay, thanks Gustavo." I say shyly, already feeling guilty about being difficult with my music and we were just starting to work together, it's just that music means something to me, on a whole other level, and I need it to go right.

"Don't thank me yet. Who knows how long it'll take. Just unpack, get comfy, and then, actually come back here at five so that the stylists can take a crack at you."

"Okay." I sigh and wave bye as I walk out of the studio, of course with the guys not too far behind me.

"SO you haven't checked in yet?" Logan asks.

"Nope, I just got off the plane two hours ago, then I was sent here right away to get to work, or at least try to before it totally failed." I sigh.

"Hey, no sweat, how about we take you back to the Palm Woods and you can get your key and get settled." Carlos suggests.

"You sure?" I question.

"Sure we're sure, and we want to hear how everything's been going? And we never did get that video of you in the play you were in." James says as he discreetly reminded me.

"Oh, I totally forgot." I say sarcastically.

"Well how about we help you unpack and decorate your room and in payment in kind you show us the video." Logan plans out.

"Hm," I think it over for a bit. How bad could it be to show them the video? I mean I think I look ridiculous and they're teenage boys, so it could be pretty bad, but what they heck. "Fine, as long as you _do_ intend to help me unpack. But only unpack the stuff I say to unpack okay?"

"Deal." Logan says and we shake each other's hands.

"Good, because I had some stuff shipped to the room before I even arrived, so I guess you can say I have a lot." I say as I think of all the boxes I had to pack up before I left the house.

"Oh come on, how bad could it be?" Kendall asks as he guides us all to a car and he hop in.

"You have GOT to be kidding me?" Kendall says as he stares into the room 1J with boxes upon boxes stacked up everywhere.

"What'd I tell you? I have a lot of stuff."

"No," James says as he goes over to one side of the room. "THIS is a lot of stuff, but _this_," He says as he comes back to the front of the room and opens up his arms. "_This _is ridiculous."

"Look who's talking?" Logan says. "When we moved in for the first time, he had three full boxes just filled with hair care products." To that, the rest of the guys and I chuckle as James just glares at Logan.

"What? Do you really think I just wake up like this? It takes a lot of work, plus my lucky comb," James says as he pulls out a black comb out of nowhere, "to look this good." Then he does this weird thing with his hands around his face, showing off his beauty.

"Huh, I thought it was natural. Guess I was wrong." I sigh as I stroll into the room and look around at the kind of space I'm working with.

"SO you finally admit I'm good looking." James says as he comes up to me, a little too close than what I was expecting, I almost fall back on a huge pile of boxes but I maintain my cool.

"Yes but now I know it takes so much work, I'm worried how you look without all the work done."

"Trust me, seeing him in the morning is not a pretty sight." Kendall and I snicker together.

"Hurtful…" James says as he pats his heart. We all laugh at him but my laughs are interrupted by the yawn stifling from my mouth.

"Tired much?" Carlos asks jokingly.

"Yeah, I think I slept too much on the plane." I say sleepily.

"Well maybe that will help your transition to the different time zone." Logan point out.

"Yeah maybe, but my sleeping patterns area always crazy. So who really knows?"

"Well, anyway, the quicker we get this done, the quicker you can get a nice good LA sleep." Kendall says.

"True, okay then! Let's get to work people, I have to get back to work at five, and that's in two hours, so let's see how much we get done before then, and then we'll come back and finish up."

"Or while you're gone we can still keep working." James says.

"Can I leave you guys alone for, who knows how long, and expect to see everything mostly done?" I ask skeptically.

"Absolutely." They all say.

"Well alright then. Let's move it people." I said clapping my hands. We all start getting to work as we each start unpacking boxes. I get the kitchen wear stuff out and start putting plates in the cabinet near the sinks.

We were working diligently for a good half hour until I saw the guys found my bedding and found the mattress I was going to put on my bed.

"Ha, ha, these are soft." I hear Carlos laugh as he feels a pillow.

"Oo, are those the really nice feather pillows from Dreamy's?" Logan asks.

"Oo, I've been dying to get one of those, let me see." James says excitedly.

"Sure thing." Carlos says deviously as he then smacks James with the pillow over the head. Oh no.

"Ha, ha, that was funny. Let's see how you like it." James says as he swipes the pillow from Carlos and tries to smack him with it but then Carlos enough to duck, expecting James to retaliate and he ends up hitting Logan square on and he falls down, and that in return gets Carlos and James to laugh and high five.

"That; was not very smart on your part." Logan says as he grabs a pillow of his own and James and Logan start bashing it out.

"Guys, guys, let's be serious, we're here to-" Kendall was trying to reason but then he gets interrupted when two pillows come colliding with his face.

"That's it!" He says as he ducks down when they try it again and he grabs a pillow and they start a full out pillow fight. I roll my eyes at first but then they start to get out of control and they start knocking over boxes and it gets aggressive. Thank goodness I took of all the fragile boxes already and put them away in the cabinets.

"Guys Careful!" I yell at them, or I at least try to yell at them but they don't seem to hear me. They keep going at it, once again knocking over a large pile of boxes and send that pile into another until there's a domino affect and all the boxes are scattered around the room, aka a complete mess.

"Okay, now I'm miffed." I say as I then grab two pillows out of the box and try my best to start breaking it up but they think I'm playing with them and go at it more, and worst of all, one of the pillows broke and feathers started spewing everywhere. Then it was again like a domino effect as they all blew up and it looked like a hurricane of geese flew into my room and coughed up feather balls.

"Quit it! You're all making a mess!" I yell and I was going to say they were acting like six year olds but then I trip over a box and start tumbling down until I notice I was falling back on someone else and I ended up sending me and which ever boy it was to the ground. Mid fall I turned around and my head landed in their chest and I accidentally felt washboard abs underneath a thin shirt.

"Hey you okay?" Came James' voice. I look up at who I landed on and saw James staring at me with a goofy grin on his face. I first blush a bit at how he's staring at me but then I look away, my way of composing myself.

"No not really." I sigh as I roll off of him and lay on the ground in frustration.

"What? What did you hurt?" He asked genuinely concerned. Aw.

"No, physically I'm fine, but the room's not." I groaned as I still saw feathers falling from the air like they were snowflakes.

"What are you talking about?" He says as he supports his body up with his arms as he is still lying down next to me. The rest of the boys stopped their pillow fight when we were lying on the ground.

"It's a complete mess, totally ruined." I say as I roll over so my face is facing the ground as I lightly continue to hit my head on the ground.

"Oh come on it's not _that_ bad." Kendall says. I look up at him and glare as I then look around the room and continue to hit my head.

"Hey, this is mild than what we've managed to pull in two hours." Carlos says he and the guys have a mini joined flashback on all the mayhem they've probably caused over the year. Wait, but what did Carlos say about how long they've been at it for?

"Wait, what time is it?" I ask as I can feel panic rise in my body.

"It's twenty after five, why?" Logan asks, so clueless.

"OH NO!" I say as I jump up to my feet and rush over to the door to put on my shoes, while at the same time I as getting feathers out of my hair.

"What's got you all panicked?" Kendall asked.

"I was supposed to be at the studios twenty minutes ago!" I yell. They all of a sudden looked panicked and start brushing the feathers off themselves and put on their shoes, they promised me beforehand that they would drive me there.

So we run out of the room, rush down the stairs, not even attempting to take the elevator, and run through the lobby like crazy people with feathers floating to the ground as we ran past everyone. We piled into the car and rushed over to the studios.

By the time we got there it was five thirty and I was freaking out over being late for my first wardrobe fitting. I bust into the room with the guys trailing behind me as I see the fashion people turn around in a dramatic fashion with their tools in their hands, ready for action.

"Hmm, girls, we have our work cut out for us."

"Yes, the sweats are so not flattering her skinny waist."

"And feathers are _so _last season." A girl comes up to me and starts plucking feathers from my head.

"Girls, let's get to work!" One cheers and they all pull me away and to somewhere I couldn't tell with all them crowding around us. As I tried to escape, I saw the boys from the corner of my eyes and yelled out help. They start charging over to help me but the girls snap their fingers and two huge guys come out of nowhere and block them off saying,

"Sorry, no boys allowed as Miss Amber gets fitted for wardrobe."

"But," They all try to protest but are interrupted by the other guard.

"Not buts, now out." They say as they push them out the door and stand by the door. My heroes… I sigh as I just let the girls do their thing, although I did whine as they started hurting me a bit when they started doing my hair and plucking my eyebrows viciously.

"Okay, first look, fun in the sun!" They say in unison. I was wearing vibrant colors. It consisted of a tube top, a jean vest, bright jean shorts, sandals and then huge sunglasses.

"I feel silly." I sigh as I blow a piece of my hair out of the way.

"Hm, it doesn't call out to me. Change up!" They cheer as they grab me again and drag me to the other wardrobe options. As I go through the same process as before, more painful than before.

"Okay, second option. Edgy chick." I was wearing leather short shorts with fish nets underneath, low cut black top with studs sewed on, a leather jacket, cargo boots, and my hair was wild and put up in a messy pony tail.

"Hm, maybe we over did it again." Said one as she put a finger to her chin, pretending to be in deep thought, unless that was her actual thinking face, which looked rather silly.

"Leather doesn't suit with her skin tone well." One said, as they looked me over.

"Uh, I can't breathe in these." I chock out as I try pulling at my shorts.

"Change up!" They scream in unison.

"Not again…" I sigh as they take my arms and start the process again.

"Okay, this is very different. Girls? Critique time."

"I just don't know if we should've gone with the country theme."

"Yeah, it's a bit overdone isn't it?"

"I look like a mini Taylor Swift." AS I pull on a piece of hair they decided to curl that sprung up and down repeatedly after I let go.

"True, we need something original, something cool and totally noticeable."

"I got it!" One of the girls said as she grabs the other two and they huddled. I heard muffled words, nothing I could catch. They clap and jump out of the circle and look at me.

"Final Change up!" They scream as they pull at me and change me once more, although finally this time I didn't feel pain. I close my eyes as they are doing everything. Once I feel that they've stopped they tell me to open my eyes. I open them and go over to a mirror and look at myself. I actually look okay. I mean I look like myself, but I looked cooler, more prepped up, and, possibly better looking.

"Okay, I so approve of this new look, all agree say I."

"I." They all say in unison.

"But you know, we should get a guy's opinion. Oh Boys." One calls to the guys outside. The big men open the doors and the guys come falling on their stomachs, they were probably eavesdropping. I couldn't help but laugh at them. And when they hear me laugh they look up and were all going to say something but stop. I look at them and see why they stopped and then I realize they're just all staring at me. I then start to turn a crimson color as I try to hide myself but the girls stop me.

"Oh there's no reason to be shy. You look gorgeous."

"And they agree." One whispers in my ear. I look at her and she winks at me. Then I look at them and blush once again.

"Um, okay, since we got my style down to every last detail, can I go now?" I ask sheepishly.

"No, you have to go to Mr. X and learn some choreography." One says pushing me out the door.

"Wait, I thought I was just supposed to do that when I have my song and then learn choreography to my song I get once I actually have one."

"Gustavo told us to tell you before you got here, we don't know the details, we just do as we're told. Now go."

"Shouldn't I change?" I ask confuse.

"Uh, nope." One answers simply. I give her a weird look.

"It's, uh, best to get used to wearing those new clothes when you wear them on stage to dance." Another agrees.

"But," I try to protest.

"No, no, no buts, go, it's dancing time."

"Okay…" I say as I pick up my clothes and stuff them into a bag that I picked up randomly right before I came here. The guys were still on the floor when I was walking out the door. "Are you guys gonna come or are you just going to stare and lay there all day?"

"Uh," They all say together.

"We need to work with them for a bit." One girl says.

"They need much, much improvement." Another says as they all snicker.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you guys later." They don't say anything when I wave and walk away. I walk away slowly as I then hear something going on in the room I just left them in. There was tussling and arguing, although I couldn't understand what they were arguing over exactly since they were all yelling on top of each other I just let it go and continued to the dance room.

"Ah, so you're Miss Amber right?" The guy dressed in black and gold, probably this Mr. X guy I've heard so much about.

"Yup that's me." I say.

"Well don't look very fashionable. I would hate to ruin your outfit with my intense workout, so if you could change please?"

"That's what I thought…" I said as I sighed and left the dance room to find a bathroom to quickly change my very cool outfit and back into my sweats. But instead of throwing my sweatshirt I just went in with the loose tank top I was wearing before hand.

"Okay, now you look ready, you ready for the workout for your life?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Give it all you got." I say as I get slightly excited to dance, I haven't dance in a while, and that was my main source of my workout.

The dance goes out for an hour and by that time, I have my sweat pants rolled up so that they where a little lower than my knee, then I was in my sports bra and I was dripping in sweat.

"I can't feel any muscle in my body." I say as I collapse on the ground.

"That's when you know you're really working out." He says cheerfully.

"That's what my friend always says." I think of Tess as I say this.

"Well you're friend is very smart. Let's keep practicing and you will become as X-cellent as me."

"All right, let's take it from the top." I say as he helps me off the ground and bounce in place to get my blood pumping and my body prepped again.

"5, 6, 5-6-7-8!" X calls out and we start dancing to the song Bad by Michael Jackson, an all time classic that I love. It was such a fun dance and super fun to learn. Although Mr. X was crazy and I didn't understand him sometimes, he was a great choreographer, but dancing reminded me of Tess and I started missing her a bit.

After the dance, Mr. X congratulates me on a good job and said I should hit the showers and relax for the rest of the day. I looked around and tried finding the guys but apparently they went back to the Palm Woods without me. Oh well I didn't mind. I brought back the clothes I took from the dancers and returned them to the racks as I decided to throw away the bag I brought with me, it was a plastic bag so nothing too important. I got out my iPod and played some tunes as I decided to jog back to the Palm Woods, realizing it really wasn't that far away from the studios.

I jogged as I listened to the beat of the songs. I get so into the music I almost miss my turn into the Palm Woods. I was holding my shirt in my hands as I ran and I decided to drape it over my shoulder as I walked into the hotel lobby. I get a couple of stares and I feel my face heat up as I see guys literally just stop in their tracks, even if they were with girls as they stare at my bare stomach.

I quickly wait as I press the button at the elevator repeatedly until finally the door opens up and I jump in and close door behind me before anyone could come on the elevator with me. I sighed when no on tried and I leaned against the side of the elevator. I wiped my face that was sweating and tried fanning myself, to cool myself off and to calm down the blush that was still very noticeable on my face.

The door opens as I walk out and head down the hall to my room, 1J and sigh as I grab my key from my shoe, since that's where I decided to keep it and open my door and push through the door, now my body taking on all the pain of workout I just went through. I stride over to the door and open it and plop down on my bed and sigh into the sheets. I smell them and they somehow managed to still smell fresh even though they were in boxes for a good three days before hand.

I immediately jumped up at the thought. When I left my room last, there were boxes and feathers scattered everywhere. What happened? I slowly get up from my bedroom, which had everything in it, right down to my underwear, which was a weird thought.

I poke my head from my bedroom doorway and look about the rest of the flat, it looked okay, and nothing looked weird. It was just so neat and I can't believe the sea of boxes that covered almost every square inch of the room were now no where to be seen. I sigh and rub my fingers through my wet hair.

"What the heck…?" I question myself.

"You like it?" I heard a voice from behind me. I turn around and out of nowhere the guys were standing behind me with their hands behind their back.

"Wait, you guys did this…for me?" I asked mystified.

"We felt bad for before for, you know, covering your room with feathers and well basically making a huge mess." Kendall explained.

"So we decided once we were done at the studios we would come back here and make it up to you." Logan said.

"So please don't be mad at us for before." Carlos said.

"You guys, I'm not angry anymore, I mean I was in the moment, but I cooled off, although it doesn't look like it, but this is absolutely awesome. Although," I trailed off as the guys' faces contorted to ones of worry. "I am questioning whether to yell at your for going through my suitcases and going through my clothes, more specifically my underwear." I said as I crossed my arms.

"Oh, well we didn't do that, we got my mom to do that." Kendall said as he scratched the back of his head.

"We're nosey but not _that_ intrusive." James said jokingly.

"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have judged." I said laughing. "Thank you guys." I said as again I yawned.

"How are you still tired?" Logan asked not believing I was still yawning.

"My body's weird okay? I get tired easily, and since it's almost seven here, it's almost ten my time." I say.

"True, but that's still relatively early." James comments.

"Not really since I've finally trained myself while at school to get a normal amount of sleep and not get sleep deprived."

"I can't even do that here and I'm not at school." Carlos complained.

"Well it was hard but I'm so used to it, I think I might need to go to bed soon. I mean obviously after I shower."

"Okay, we'll leave you to that then." Kendall said.

"Good night Amber." Carlos says sweetly.

"Ha, ha, good night you guys, I would hug you but then again, I'm super sweaty."

"Yeah please don't." Logan says putting up his hands to protect himself and we all end up laughing.

"But we'll remember you owe us a hug." James comments pointing at me.

"Okay, I'll repay you tomorrow. Now scoot, I'll talk to you later." I said shooing them towards the door.

"Bye." They say in unison.

"See you." I said and I close the door behind them. I sigh out loud to myself, as I need to remember to thank them again. I pull my hair out of the pony tail I had it in, shake it out, and head towards my room as I go through my stuff that was arranged neatly in my room as I looked for my bath robe. I found it and took a quick shower, which helped me feel really relaxed.

I dried my hair with a towel and didn't care that if I went to sleep my pillow might be wet, I was still on my time and needed sleep. I sighed as I turned off the lights that were in my room and stared up at the ceiling and slowly felt my eyelids drift closed.

I would've been asleep if I didn't hear banging coming from the ceiling. My eyes snap open as I hear, directly above me, something was moving furiously along the floor. I hear it move from directly above me to somewhere above the main room. I sigh, as I can't seem to hear it that much anymore and snuggle into my pillow.

But yet again I heard different banging noises coming closer again and it was directly above me again. Then I heard it stop for a second and I heard cheering and someone hollering. Wait, the guys said they lived in 2J, is that them upstairs making all that noise?

Getting angry that I specifically said I needed my sleep to them, I decided to text one of them. The first person that came up on my texting list was the group message. Perfect. So I text message something short and easy that gets my point across, my point being that I need sleep. I sigh knowing now they will probably understand and they'll keep it down, I mean they're reasonable guys.

I put my phone back on my nightstand where it was charging. I sigh and turn the other way so that I was facing my closet and I fell right to sleep, now being content.

But that didn't last long when I woke up an hour later to hear banging yet again. And it was a repeated banging, like something was getting thrown to the ground and beaten up, and of course my luck it was right above me. I groan in agony as I decided to get out of bed and get a broom and stand up on my bed as I hit the ceiling repeatedly.

They seem to stop to listen to my banging. I decide then to yell up,

"Can you please keep it down?" I say loudly.

"What?" I heard a voice reply, I couldn't tell from whom but it was definitely one of the guys all right.

"Keep. It. Down. Please." I annunciate my words while still raising my voice.

"Come again?" I hear another voice.

"Ugh." I groan loudly as I tap the ceiling one more time. I figured they didn't check their phones or maybe they had them off. So I walked to the main room and used the landline and called upstairs. The phone rings three times before someone finally answers.

"Hello?" Came a voice from the other side of the phone.

"Hi, it's Amber." I say as nicely as I can.

"Oh hi Amber," I could now tell that James was the one who picked up the phone by his cheery but also flirtatious voice. "Hey guys, it's Amber." I guess he decided to put me on speakerphone and that's when my ear was welcomed by the harmonious sound of hellos from the rest of the band.

"Hi, I was just wondering if you could keep it down, it's almost eleven here and that means it's almost two o'clock my time and I really need some good sleep."

"Oh, sorry." I hear some say in unison.

"Wait, that was you who was taping on our floor?" Came another voice, which I assumed was Logan's.

"Yup, I had to get my point across somehow and I didn't want to leave my room to use the land line."

"Why didn't you just call us on your cell?" James asks.

"Well I tried texting you guys to keep it down but you guys never answered."

"Oh wait, I think my phone's off." Logan says.

"Well I got my confiscated." Kendall says. Hmm, interesting…

"Mine dropped in the toilet." I heard Carlos say. There was a slight moment of silence until Carlos spoke again. "What? Tell me that's not happened to you before?"

"Okay, that's never happened to me before." Came Kendall's voice laughing at Carlos for being so silly. I couldn't help but laugh too at Kendall's comment but then I remembered why I called.

"Okay, so if you guys could keep it down up there, that'd be awesome."

"Okay, sorry to wake you." Came Logan's voice.

"It's okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow alright?"

"Okay, good night." James said.

"Night." I say and I hear more people say good night afterwards but I hang up, not really caring if it was rude or not and I walk back lazily to my room and plop on my bed and messily pull the covers over my bare body and drift off into sleep.

I woke up at nine o'clock the next day, completely out of it, and the only reason why I was awake now was because I heard a knock on my door. And it sounded like they've been knocking forever. I groan and throw my blankets off my body and struggle to get out my bed. I rub my head as the banging is giving me a massive headache.

I hear another knock from the other side of the door and my eardrums start ringing to the beat, God I feel like I have a hangover or something.

"Ugh, I'm coming...hold your horses." I call out as I lazily grab the door handle and swing it open. "Kelly? What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to call you since eight this morning, what's up? Rough night adjusting?"

"No, I had a rough night handling BTR upstairs banging away as they did God knows what. They woke me up at least four times last night."

"So I guess you're not going to like it when I ask you to come into work today are you?"

"Well I'm definitely not pumped." I say as I try to make my hair a little more flattering. It was all over the place and when Kelly first saw me that's immediately what she looked at, even before my face.

"I'll tell Gustavo you're coming late, the most I can give you is a half hour."

"That should be fine I'm going to take a shower, and could you possibly get me some coffee from Comet's Coffee please?" I almost have to beg.

"Sure, how do you take it?" Kelly said with a sympathetic smile pulling at her lips.

"Usually I have it with cream and sugar but for today I just want it black with a hint of milk." I ask kindly.

"Sure you can handle that?" Kelly asked warily.

"Not really but I could really use it anyway." I say.

"Alright if you say so." She shrugs.

"I'll meet you down in the lobby." Kelly nods and leaves down the way she came and I close the door and lean against the door and sigh. I run a finger through my hair and my hand gets caught in the massive knots in my hair. I groan as I head to the shower with my hand still in my hair.

Ten minutes later, I was dressed and was much better looking than before, although even with my added makeup on I still looked tired. I trudged out the door and almost ran into Kelly who was just arriving with my coffee. I smiled at her and then took the coffee graciously and started taking big gulps of it.

It tasted weird, having it black, it was strong and bitter, but I could already feel the caffeine start to kick in as I felt my body jitter and my eyes start opening wider than their already half closed selves.

Kelly and I took her car to the studios and we rushed out of the car and booked it as quickly as we could inside, well as quickly as I could keep up because even though my mind and eyes were more awake, my body was still lazy and I almost fell over at least four times before Kelly and I made it to the recording booth where Gustavo was playing with some changes in a tune I didn't recognize.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up. I don't have time to waste on waiting for talent to finally get their lazy butt out of bed all the time."

"I do have a name you know."

"Yes Amber, I know your name, but all I care about right now if you getting in that booth and recording the new song I composed for you."

"If it's like the others one you've shown me, then NO."

"I understand now more why you don't want to write love songs, so I avoided using all the themes that run around love. Now get in that booth and let's make some magic."

"Okay then, if you say so."

"You ready to rock?"

"(Yawn) Ready as I'll ever be." I take a sigh as I look up at the name of the song. It's already talking about hearts in the title, what did I tell him about this, but I take a listen at the tune playing through the headphones I placed in my ears and it doesn't sound like a love song.

It's probably what's best for you  
>I only want the best for you<br>And if I'm not the best then you're stuck  
>I tried to sever ties and I ended up with wounds to bind<br>Like you're pouring salt in my cuts

And I just ran out of band-aids  
>I don't even know where to start<br>'Cause you can't bandage the damage  
>You never really can fix a heart<p>

Even though I know what's wrong  
>How could I be so sure<br>If you never say what you feel, feel  
>I must have held your hand so tight<br>You didn't have the will to fight  
>I guess you needed more time to heal<p>

Baby, I just ran out of band-aids  
>I don't even know where to start<br>'Cause you can't bandage the damage  
>You never really can fix a heart<p>

Ooh, ooh  
>Whoa, whoa<br>Yeah  
>Ooh, ooh<br>Whoa, whoa  
>Whoa, whoa<br>Oh, oh  
>Yeah<p>

You must be a miracle worker  
>Swearing up and down<br>You can fix what's been broken, yeah  
>Please don't get my hopes up<br>No, no, baby, tell me how could you be so cruel?

It's like you're pouring salt on my cuts

Baby, I just ran out of band-aids  
>I don't even know where to start<br>'Cause you can't bandage the damage  
>You never really can fix a heart<p>

Baby, I just ran out of band-aids  
>I don't even know where to start<br>'Cause you can't bandage the damage  
>You never really can fix a heart<br>Oh no, no, no  
>You never really can fix a heart<br>Oh no, no, no  
>You never really can fix a heart<br>Oh-oh, oh, oh-oh yeah-oh, oh, oh, oh  
>You never really can fix my heart<p>

"That sounded great Amber." I could hear Kelly say in the background.

"What did you think of the song? Pure genius right?" Gustavo boasted as usual.

"Amber…?" Kelly says worried as I continued to not answer and look away from her.

"I'm fine…" I managed to whisper. "I like the song, it's good…" I say as I wipe my face and take a deep breath as I turn around slowly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…it just, really got to me, you really nailed it Gustavo, I had my doubts, but you really know how to write a song."

"Thank you, although I'm going to see what I can do about the music, you're voice sounds too alone, I'll add more to the music, you can relax for now." Gustavo says as I put the headphones on the microphone and I just open the door and walk out with my head ducked down as I go up to the door as I then feel the door open way too easily as I look up and see four faces staring down at me happily at first but then their faces contort and become faces of confusion.

Not wanting to put up with the questions I knew they were dying to let out of their mouths, I run past them despite the voices I hear calling after me to come back. I simply couldn't let them see me in the vulnerable state I was currently in, so I run down the halls until I find the closest bathroom and lock the door behind me. I turn around to put my back against the door and sigh as I catch my breath although it's hard since I'm still crying and my breathing is uneven.

I walk up to the mirror, I had mascara dripping down my face my eyes looked blood shot and my face flushed. I look down at the sink and I see my hands gripping the edges of the sink and they and my arms are shaking. I struggle with my shaking hands to turn the faucet on and let myself cry as I try to stop and splash myself with water. I hear something from behind me, almost like it was a voice. I freak out and turn off the water to see what it was.

"Amber?" I heard it more clearly this time. I could immediately tell who it was behind the door and I let out a shaky breath as I stand by the door for a moment and just stare at the handle.

"Please Amber; open up, you can talk to me, I know." I look up at the door where I could imagine where the person's face was. I quickly put my hand on the doorknob, unlock it, and quickly slide it open. Through my puffy eyes and blurry vision I could still see the sympathetic face of Carlos staring back at me.

"Come here." He says and I don't even hesitate when he opens his arms. I quickly run into them and just stand there in the hallway, shaking as I cry into his shoulder. He grips me tighter the harder I cry and he whispers into my neck that everything will get better and he was here whenever I needed him. He stroked my back and made me feel better; although I didn't look like it, I just needed to cry.

I haven't cried over, over what happened, since the day of and the day after, after that, I didn't want to cry anymore and I wanted to be stronger, but I was lying to myself, I was ignoring everything that happened and I shouldn't have done that. And now look at me, I'm in the arms of a brotherly type figure I haven't seen in God knows how long in a public place. And I look like a mess.

"Do you want to go to you apartment and talk?" He asks as he puts me out at arm's length. I don't answer since I'm still a mess. He takes his hands and puts them on either side of my face and forces me to look up at him and he starts to wipe off the makeup/tears that continue to stream down my face like rain.

"I don't know if I can talk about it…" I say.

"But you need to, even though you told me about what Lukas did-"

"Shhhh…" I say as I look at him pleadingly. I was starting to calm down a bit as my tears were halting, but I still continued to shake.

"Sorry, but I know what he did and I haven't told anyone about it, and that means you don't have a lot of people out here to turn to. Let me help you." He pleads almost. I look at him again and see the hurt in his features, how he seems to almost feel my pain, although I don't know how, he's so cheerful, and happy and hasn't been where I've been, but he managed to somehow relate to me without that much trouble, and to see him reflect my hurt feelings was unbearable.

"Okay…"

"Let's go then." He says and he wraps his arm around my waist.

* * *

><p>Told you i needed to finish, i honestly need to come up more with the conversations that will follow and make sure it sounds really, REALLY good, so stay tuned and hope you enjoyed this chapter :) give me some feedback please, it'd be much appreciated<p> 


	8. Big Time Conflicts pt 2

HI EVERYONE! miss me? because i know i missed each and every one of you! :P sorry high on sugar at the moment :D sorry i haven't posted in a while! but this chapter, as you can probably guess, is super DUPER long, so hopefully it'll make up for my absence, i worked super duper hard on it and i have to thank Dana2184 for helping me with the conversations that Amber has with each of the boys, so THANK YOU...i won't say more, but i think it turned out nicely

OH and i haven't done this i don't think yet, but thank you to everyone who's reviewed/faved/alerted me or my story, honestly it means so much to me and i really appreciate everyone's feedback and knowing that people like my story really puts a smile on my face :D - just like that! :) anyway hope you enjoy

ANOTHER THING I HAVEN'T DONE IN A WHILE: i don't own BTR, wish i could because that means i could see them everyday, but since that'll never happen, i'll just keep dreaming :)

* * *

><p>Carlos takes me to the parking lot and opens the passenger seat to his car and we head back to the Palm Woods where we pile into the elevator quickly and head to his and the guys' apartment. Thankfully there wasn't anyone home so we were alone for me to just continue crying. We wandered over to the brightly colored sofa and we just sat there as I just sit there and cry. He gets up for a second to bring over some tissue boxes and a blanket. He places the tissues on the coffee table and wraps the blanket around my shoulders.<p>

As soon as he does that, I start crying more and just lie down on his legs and continue to cry. He rubs my back and we don't talk for several minutes, he just lets me cry and says soothing things to me. After what seemed like hours I started calming down.

"You know you don't have to hold back from me, I know what you're going through from what you told me three months ago." Carlos says softly to me as he rubs my back in circular motions. I sit up slowly and sigh as he wraps a comforting arm around me and rubs my arms.

"I'm not holding back from you, I'm holding back from myself." I admit shamefully as I pull my legs to my chest and rest my chin in between them.

"Why? Amber you have to be honest about what you're feeling, especially with yourself." Carlos lectures me but he sounded so caring I don't think I could call it a lecture, maybe more like a pep talk.

"But I shouldn't be upset about this anymore, I should have moved on from this, rut, that I'm in. Why can't I?" I say as one tear escapes my hold, but I furiously wipe my face.

"Things like this aren't meant to be easy to move on. He was your first long time relationship." Carlos points out.

"Yeah? So, it's not like I loved him or anything." I say, harsher than I intended.

"That's hard to believe since you dated him for almost two years." Carlos said looking at me sideways.

"I mean sure I've been with him for a long time but I don't think I had ever truly loved him. We never said it to one another, we just dated, nothing really more, but I guess to him it was."

"Yeah, he probably did love you." He says a little too casually for my liking.

"Can we not say that word, please? It just sounds so, _foreign_ to me."

"Okay, so he REALLY liked you, a lot, passionately." He says almost smirking.

"...Okay I guess I can live with that." I sigh.

"And of course you liked him."

"Of course I did. I cared for him, a lot."

"But not enough to not kiss Kendall last summer." Carlos stated rather than asked.

"Wait what? How'd, how'd you know about...?" I stutter out. Oh God, I never expected Kendall to ever tell the boys about that.

"Nick told me of course, I mean, he _was_ there." Carlos says obviously.

"No he was-" then I stopped myself short, realizing that he meant when we went out and we kissed in the elevator, I thought he meant right before I left the airport. "Oh, yeah, you're right. But, we were drunk." I try excusing myself.

"But not completely intoxicated enough you couldn't have prevented it, and from I heard you didn't put up a fight." Carlos counters. Well he had me there.

"...Maybe not. Its caught me off guard and my reaction time was super delayed, and, he wasn't a bad kisser..." I say sheepishly as I trail off and look away to keep the slight blush off my face from being noticed.

"Okay, T.M.I." Carlos says throwing his hands to his head to not hear anymore of what I was saying or what he thought I was going to say.

"Hey, you brought it up in the first place Mister." I point out.

"Touché. But back to why I brought it up, did you tell Lukas about it?" He asks curiously.

"No, and I know I should've but you know how he gets, he's pretty sensitive for a guy who plays lacrosse and he's super possessive, or in lighter terms, over-protective."

"Either way, you didn't want to hurt his feelings because you still wanted to be with him and because you cared for him." Carlos reasoned.

"...I guess so." I said as I thought over my feelings. I did care for Lukas, for a long time, we were friends, we were dating, and of course I had feelings for him.

"So, obviously it's alright to be upset over this mess because you were hurt, emotionally, mentally, and not to mention physically," He said grabbing the right side of my head and caressing a little bit around the familiar scar I had behind my ear. "By someone you cared for. And no matter who the person was, whether a friend, a parent, a boyfriend/girlfriend, a relative, it hurts."

"But I don't want to be hurt anymore, we needed to break up, we had an unhealthy relationship with the balance completely out of whack."

"And that's why I'm here, I'm here for you and here to make sure you can build yourself up again and not feel so much pain. You're burdening yourself the more you keep your thoughts locked up. If you vent every once in a while, you'll be relieved of all your stress."

"It's hard to believe this is all coming out of your mouth. I mean you're always the goof ball who laughs all the time, smiling every minute, and thinks about cute little kittens to cheer himself up."

"What can I say, I'm a man of many attributes."

"Okay Carlitos, you keep telling yourself that." I say as I nudge him lightly as we laugh. I quickly then stop laughing and tackle Carlos in a hug. "Thanks Carlos. Have I ever told you you're amazing."

"A few times, but it never gets old." Carlos says as he hugs me back as he messes up my hair a bit. He separates and gives me a kiss on the forehead. He then looks back at me and I can almost see a light bulb shine above his head.

"Hey! You know what we should do? We should make you a I-Cast account." He says excitedly.

"That website where you just make live videos and chat with your fans?"

"Exactly. You'll be sky rocketing soon when your first single hits stores, and myJams."

"You think so?"

"Well you know that song you wrote about your friend Tess?"

"Dreamer? What about it?"

"Well someone really liked it and make a lyric video and posted it on Tube World."

"They did WHAT now?"

"Wanna see?"

"Uh, yeah!" I say with frustration but also excitement. A weird combination but very true description of how I was feeling. I didn't know whether to be flattered or that no one decided to tell me about it until now.

"Here it is! And look how many views there are!" Carlos says pushing the laptop onto my lap. I look at the video, its titled "Dreamer by Amber Riley", appropriate. I then go from the title to the number in the bottom right of the video and gasp.

"15,000 views?" I almost scream as I take hold of the laptop and stare at the number as MY song, my OWN song, was playing softly throughout the room.

"Uh-huh."

"And look at all these comments! 'Who is this girl, she rocks!'? 'Is this on myJams yet?', 'What does Amber look like!', there's got to be dozens here." I gasp as I continue to scroll.

"And that's just the first page. And hardly any are negative after that."

"No way." I say in disbelief. I scrolled and scrolled until my hand was cramping with not using a mouse and only found five negative comments. "How's this possible?"

"Uh, HELLO? You're good Amber, like really good. Better than some artists that are better known, and people, like the guys and I, AND Gustavo and Rocque Records, see that. What'd I tell you, you're going to be taking over."

"This is, this is unbelievable."

"Well get used to it because your popularity is only going to increase after this..." Carlos says trailing off as he takes the computer from my lap and starts to type fiercely. I stare at him, vey confused, well only for a bit because after Carlos did whatever it was he was doing, he puts the laptop down on the coffee table and says,

"Hello I-Cast viewers! It's Carlos from Big Time Rush!" I immediately am stricken with fear but Carlos knew I was going to try to make a break for it and grabbed my wrist and BOY was he stronger than he looked, I guess that's what being on the hockey team did to someone. He kept me plopped on the couch, my face still probably puffy from crying before, as I awaited the real torture to begin.

"Sorry I haven't updated in a while," Carlos continues as if I wasn't ever there, even though I was still trying desperately to break free. "We've been hard at work, since we've been back from touring, on our second album. But that's not why I'm here, because I'm here to just talk to you, but of course I have a guest, lady's and gents, if there are any, my awesomely talented friend, Amber Riley!" Carlos cheers as he takes his free hand and wraps it around my body and pulls me fully into view.

At first I try to duck my head into his chest in attempt to hide but that was all to no avail as Carlos tickled me and got me to escape my ducking away position and had me fully facing the screen, where I sat frozen in fear in front of.

"She's just being shy, say hi Amber; people are saying hi." Carlos says as he points to the chat box on the side of the box with my flushed face on it next to Carlos blinking as more and more messages popped up. I avert my eyes and finally look more closely at myself. I surprisingly don't look terrible. Phew, one crisis averted. Remembering this was live; I give a short wave with a little smile.

"Oh c'mon Amber you can do better than that!" Carlos said poking my side and causing me to unfreeze completely as I jolted up from the poke.

"Uh, hi, world, how's it going...?" I ask awkwardly. Then I look from the screen to Carlos and smile brightly at him, of course it was fake, while saying, "I'll get you for this..." teeth gritted the whole time.

"Oh, what a jokester! Isn't she funny? Now, let's answer some questions, so if you want to just blast questions at us, go right ahead! Now's your chance, oh! And don't forget to include Amber, and it's even better if you don't know who she is to ask questions, get to know her too." I decide as Carlos' fans take control and ask questions, I put the video of mute and ask,

"You're enjoying my discomfort aren't you?" I say glaring at him.

"What? No, why are you uncomfortable? These could be future fans..."

"OR, they're your fans who might be getting ideas in their head and will end up hating on me." I retaliate.

"That won't happen, and who would ask that?" He asked.

"Well, apparently every other question is asking, 'are you two dating?', 'where did you two meet?', oh and here's one, 'CARLOS! Why are you cheating on me?'." He looks at the comments and laughs a little bit but I hit him and he stops and gives me an apologetic look. "See! _This_ is what happens when you introduce your fans to girls."

"Hold up, I'll do the explaining." He says, and before I could protest, he takes the video off mute to address his fans. "Wow! I love the spirit! There's a lot of questions here, but most are regarding me and Amber, and let me say, she's just a friend, we're not dating, we're both happily single. I couldn't ever date Amber." He sighs as he wraps an arm around my shoulders, dragging me under his arm almost like a head lock.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask half jokingly half serious as I struggle to break free. I decide to poke both his sides and he flinches and I'm able to break free.

"What I meant was that you're like a baby sister to me." He says.

"But we're the same age." I try to say with a straight face but I can't keep my giggles down.

"Anyways," he says disregarding my comment as I nudge him slightly with my shoulder. "To answer the question about how we met, she came up to LA last year with a camp program and she got to meet us when she won a contest in a magazine."

"Well technically I didn't enter the contest, my 'friend' did but I ended up getting stuck with these guys and now we're super close." I explain.

"Nice putting it." He whispers loudly to me.

"Thanks, I've been working on rephrasing it." I say winking at him and we both laugh.

"Okay, let's get some other questions. OH! Here's some, eh-hem, 'Amber, where are you from because you don't look like you're from LA'. Amber would you like to answer that?"

"Gladly," I say fake-cheerfully. "I am from a town outside of Boston, Massachusetts. And to answer a question that'll probably pop up about why I'm here, it's because I just recently got signed onto Rocque Record's team."

" 'Wow so that means you get to work with Big Time Rush? I'm jealous'."

"Actually I haven't worked with them, well if Dreamer counts, but really we haven't collaborated yet, I'm mainly going to work on my own stuff for a while, but you never know what Gustavo will have in store for us."

"You know that'd be so cool if we could do a song together, and I'd say Dreamer counts as our first collaboration. For those of you out there who have NO idea what we're talking about, which is okay, let's clue you in. If you go on and type in "Dreamer by Amber Riley", that's her," Carlos says pointing at me, "it's the first video you see and that's a song that Amber wrote _herself_ and if you listen carefully, you'll hear me and the other guys singing along with her."

"It's true. And if you like what you hear, or don't, leave a comment and tell me what you think. If it gets a lot of attention I'll talk with Gustavo and see if he'll put it on myJams for you guys to purchase." I say casually although mentioning my song kind of got goose bumps crawling up my forearms. What if I introduced my song out to more people, like Big Time Rush's fan, they end up hating it?

"Look at her, she's so modest, no need to be embarrassed, you're really working hard for this." Carlos says.

"Thanks buddy." I say as I give him a side hug.

"Oh no…" Carlos says looking at the screen, particularly the inbox.

"What's 'oh no'?" I ask worried as he slips out of my reach and leans over to the coffee table.

"'Hey Amber, can we hear you sing pretty please?' 'Yeah! Please sing something!' 'Can you do a duet with Carlos?' Wow there's a really big demand." He says slowly as he lets all the comments settle.

"Uh…" I drag out. I was a little petrified, I was not expecting that, I mean I probably should've but I didn't think they would really want to hear me.

"…You know you don't have to if you feel uncomfortable."

"I mean…I'm just, I don't have any music…or a song in mind." I say.

"Wow, I'll give you credit for guts and bravery, you really want to do this…? It's just, I don't want them to pressure you." Carlos says.

"I mean, I can do this, I've performed in front of more I think. I mean, how many people are watching…?"

"About two hundred." He said quickly and softly as if he didn't want me to catch it.

"Two…_hundred_?" I internally was sweating like crazy and felt faint.

"Yes…?" He answered nervously not liking my facial expression.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have asked, ugh. Okay, let's just get this over with. So, what you do you guys want to hear?"

"Hold on, people are typing." I lean forward as I saw that people were typing. "Oh no! This is going to be a surprise now…sit back there and I'll look at the songs and I'll pick what you should sing." Carlos says as he covers the laptop's screen.

"Okay…" I say suspiciously as I recline in the brightly colored couch and a wait for the viewers to say what they wanted to hear. I see Carlos adjust himself to block my vision and I see his head nodding at the answers I guess he was receiving. It wasn't for a few moments until I saw that I could tell that Carlos found something that he liked and then said,

"Okay! I think we have our answer. Let's go on now and get the music…" Carlos announces but trails off as he focuses on the task at hand. I try to sneak a peak over his shoulder but still he was doing a good job at not letting me see what he was typing. Once I see that Carlos is done typing, he quickly hits a video, so quickly I can't read the title of it until it pops up on the screen.

"Oh I get it, alright, fine I'll sing it, but you better sing too mister."

"Deal." He said cheerfully and I smile right as I get ready for the song to start playing.

"Uh, uh, uh, ohhhhh." We both sing together. If you couldn't tell by that little opening, then you're not a true "Rusher" as I've heard the fans call themselves, because that is the opening to the boys' first single, appropriately named after the band.

Although it might be shocking to hear but I knew all the notes and lyrics to their song, and other songs by them, down flat. When I was back at home, not in LA, I was missing the guys so much and so when I couldn't talk to them I found out I could still feel connected to them through their music, so I learned their songs and listened to them with Tess of course. So during the song, I was singing Kendall's and Logan's parts while Carlos did his solos and Logan's as well.

At the end of the song, we were both laughing at each other because it felt weird singing two people's lyrics. But apparently when we checked back to the chat box where the fans would post comments as we kept chatting everyone really enjoyed the song and listening to us. I got quite a few comments on my singing, positive ones to be exact and it boosted my confidence for the rest of the video.

"Wow I'm glad you guys liked it! That was a great duet Amber, I'm surprised you knew the words so well."

"Well you know, when I couldn't talk to you guys, I would feel like I was talking to you through you guys' music and so I listened to, a couple, of your songs."

"Well it sure showed, and look at the comments!" Carlos exclaimed reading the comments that seemed to be popping up by the second. "They say they want to hear more."

"You guys want us to keep singing?" I asked the screen shocked. Wow, I'm so shocked by their enthusiastic attitudes. Their fans rock!

"More like demanding it." Carlos laughs as he keeps scrolling through the comments. "And wow there's a lot more of you guys now, we just broke three hundred."

"Are you _serious_?" I gasp almost when I kneel down next to him and look at the number count. 313; that was the number of people that were wasting their free time to watch us.

"Well then, to those new comers, WELCOME!" Carlos cheered happily. I laugh and follow his lead and we shout out to people and stuff.

"Okay, so we keep these people occupied, let's go to your myJams account and sing to songs on shuffle, hmm?" I suggest.

"Sounds like fun, let me pull it up." Carlos agrees happily.

"Kay." I say as I watch him minimize the video and pull up his music library and he hits the shuffle button, a Spanish song comes on and I give him a quizzical look.

"What? I'm Spanish if you haven't realized; I mean come on! My name's Carlos _Garcia_."

"I'm not saying anything." I say defensively and he nudges me playfully and I retaliate and we just sit there staring at the screen with Spanish music playing hitting each other.

"Okay I think we should stop and pick a new song." I say as I laugh and rub my going-to-be-bruised side gingerly. He presses shuffle until I hear a familiar song I was dancing to just the other day. I squeal happily as the tune fills the room.

"I didn't know you were a MJ fan."

"Are you kidding me, Tess and I nonstop back in Boston and at college would listen to him, at the talent show for two years in a row we won the gold trophy for doing our MJ impression."

"That's awesome, show us what you got!" Carlos says egging me on as he pushes me upwards slightly and I get to my knees.

"You people wanna see my awesome moves, and possibly sing, although it'll be difficult but because you guys are so awesome I'll try anyway?" I ask as we pull the screen with the video and talk box up again to see a response.

"They seem pumped."

"Alright then, Carlitos, from the top!" I say jumping up and shaking myself out so that my muscles are looser and I don't hurt myself in anyway trying to do the super hard and fast dance I learned to this song.

"Yes ma'am!" He says saluting me and he goes back and plays it from the beginning and then turns the computer to face where I was standing in the open space in the room.

The music fills the air and I get an adrenaline rush as I picture X yelling at me to keep going and give it my all. I start singing at appropriate times and doing my famous MJ moves to show off that weren't officially in the dance to begin with but sure went well with the choreography anyway.

I was having so much fun and Carlos was hooting and cheering me on and telling me along the way what people were saying. It was weird, while I was dancing, I was thinking why I was even in apartment 2J to begin with, I was miserable, puffy, and crying my eyes out in front of Carlos. But I felt like that was almost a week a go that happened, it felt that distant from me from where I was right now.

And having my buddy here cheering me on was helping my good mood increase as well. Carlos got really into my dancing at one point he rushed off somewhere and came back with a black hat and white glove for me to messily put on and continue dancing.

"Bravo, bravo! Encore!" Carlos cheered when I was finally done and I collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. He even took his computer with him and had it hovering over my face, which was currently dripping with sweat.

"How do you feel?" He asked me as he was trying to keep down his laughter at probably how out of breathe I was.

"Like I ran a marathon and then got run over by the other runners." I said brutally honest.

"Well you were absolutely awesome!" He said happily. "And your fans think so too."

"Why thank you." I say as he helps me out as he steadies his laptop in his other arm. He told me where I could find a towel so I could cool off and look a bit more presentable. He didn't say that but that's how I felt I should be on camera. So I wiped my face and splashed some cool water on my face and felt refreshed. That's when I decided to head back over to Carlos with 2 water bottles I pulled out of the fridge and started gulping one down as I handed the other to Carlos.

"Aren't you just the sweetest?" He said as he nudged me.

"What can I say, it just comes naturally." I breathed out after I decided to stop drowning myself in water from the bottle.

"Okay, so they want us to keep singing, but I've been on shuffle and couldn't find anything good that we could sing."

"Hmm, well have no fear, Amber is here!" I say in a very cheesy heroic voice as I struck a pose. He laughs and I get some virtual laughs as well and I start going on shuffle but it's on pause so no one can hear what's to come. After about clicking the shuffle button at least ten times I came upon a song that I love and it would be fun to experiment with.

I turn the screen to Carlos who looks it over and his facial change to one of pure shock.

"Are you sure about this?" He looks at me with a mix of worry and confusion.

"Sure I'm sure, I mean as long as we edit it of course for our younger viewers out there that look to us for being good role models and such. What? You don't know the words or something?"

"No, unfortunately I know the words down flat. It's just I'm surprised by your choice. I didn't know you listened to rap music." He said, as he kind of looked at me sideways.

"I listen to all kinds of music silly. Now you wanna take a crack at it or what?"

"Okay, you lead it and I'll jump in when I can." He says.

"Alright then, let's crank it up!" I say enthusiastically as I press play. _Not Afraid_ by Eminem comes on and the two of us start busting out versus, of course bleeping what we think is inappropriate and just having fun messing around with the lyrics and acting all tough. It was enjoyable and people were reacting positively, unless laughing at us and saying we're crazy is supposed to be taken negatively; you can never be too sure what people mean on the Internet.

"For those of you who saw me spit pretty much during that performance, I'm sorry, I usually don't do that, I swear." I say apologetically to the laptop as I take my sleeve and wipe some spots on the screen.

"Oh please, half of that is my spit." Carlos commented.

"Ew! Gross…" I say wiping the sleeve on my leg but then I switched to Carlos' arm.

"Hey! Not _all_ of that's mine." He complained.

"Well now it is. I hope you enjoy it." I tease.

"ANYWAY, I must bow down to you now, you _nailed_ that! I can't believe how well you know the lyrics." He says pretending to bow down to me.

"What are you talking about Willis?" I question jokingly. "You were just as amazing, better yet, you had me beat when you came in for the bridge." I say to him as I duck my head down in his direction.

"We are not seriously going to have this argument are we?" He asked me and I could tell he was laughing a bit. I look up and smirk at him and we both laugh a bit.

"Well to avert that argument, let's get back to the fans, you know, the ones _watching _us weirdo-s."

"Speak for yourself." He says jokingly. I slap his arm and turn the computer towards me a bit and scroll down the list of comments we've been getting.

"How can you guys still want more? You all sound like my younger siblings."

"Hey now, they're just excited to see us, I mean, I haven't been on here in awhile, and most of them don't know who you are and want to get to know you better and hear how insanely talented you are."

"Aw, Carlos!" I say and tackle him into a bear hug. "Isn't he the sweetest thing ever?" I ask cheerfully as I playfully pinch his cheeks. He laughs and shrugs me off and as he laughs he starts coughing. "Oh God are you okay?" I say as I pat his back.

"Yeah, I think I just don't haven enough saliva in my mouth to keep talking, let alone singing so I just choked on nothing."

"Okay, one, Ew. And two, I think we should lay off the singing for a bit and how about have you guys, our loyal subjects, as us questions about ourselves and we'll answer to the best of our abilities." I ask the audience, almost as if I was pleading with them. Despite some comments from people that said they still wanted us to keep singing, the majority understood our circumstances and started shooting us questions immediately. In the meantime I was playing music low in the background to keep the mood a bit lively.

The songs that played in the back ground consisted of Usher's DJ's Got Us Falling in Love Again and a mix of Chris Brown's Deuces and Yeah 3x. As they played I was doing little dances, nothing full out, just in my seat and Carlos would join in and we'd alternate answering questions. Then our little routine was interrupted when voices could be heard from across the room as the door to the apartment opened up.

"Oh, my, GOD, look everyone! It's the other ¾ s of Big Time Rush stopping by for a visit. Say hi guys!" I say as I turn the screen towards the door as Kendall, James and Logan stand there stunned for a second before relaxing and waving to the virtual crowd and saying hello.

"Actually we're not stopping by, we live here last time I checked." Logan states jokingly.

"So this is where you guys have been this whole time?" Kendall asks curiously. I could see him giving me a worried look and so the audience couldn't see I quickly slid the computer back to facing Carlos. I also tried to get rid of the scattered tissues and the garbage can that was around the table from when I was crying.

"Yeah, I mean we haven't seen you guys since the studios. Being cooped up in here is _lame_." James sings the last word out.

"Yeah, we've basically been chilling out here." Carlos stated casually.

"And then we got bored so Carlos decided to start streaming to his fans and we've been goofing off ever since." I explain.

"Is that why I keep getting mentions and notifications online about a video of Carlos?" James asks curiously as he pulls out his smart phone.

"Yup, that's been us for the past, wow, I can't _believe_ it's been an hour." Carlos says looking at the clock in amazement.

"How have you guys been able to handle listening to us for _that _long?" I questioned the audience, watching us, surprised as I look at the blinking clock underneath the television.

"Well you two are very entertaining people." Logan laughs from the side.

"I hope that's a good thing." I state with my eyebrow ridged in his direction.

"It is." Kendall chimes in.

"Okay then, well we were going to go down to the pool, unless you guys still want to stay cooped up in here and not have a nice relaxing time in the sun and in the lovely pool, then bye!" James hollers as he rushes into his bedroom presumably and comes out wearing just a black tank and board shorts.

"Well…" Carlos and I say as we look at each other and then at the screen guiltily. "We _have_ been on here for a long time…" I trail off.

"So hope you guys don't get mad but we're going to go and have some fun now." Carlos says cheerfully as he gets up from his spot, but rushes back to his seat and says, "Not that this wasn't fun or anything, we're just gonna go to the pool, one of my favorite places. Thanks again for your continuous support, check out Amber's songs on Tube World!" He cheers pointing/poking my side then got off the couch and goes to the same room that James went into, meaning they shared bedrooms.

"So go and get off your lazy butts, turn off your computers and like us, go outside, enjoy yourself, no one likes a couch potato." I say cheerfully. "It was really fun being goofy and whatnot with you guys, you'll have plenty to talk about with your friends now, so bye, and maybe I'll come back on sometime." And with a wave of my hand, I signed off and relaxed into the orange couch and sighed.

"So, did you get a little piece of fame?" Logan asks.

"Yeah, and it was, kind of nice. You guys sure do have a lot of dedicated, and slightly crazy fans." I said to the boys as we all laughed.

"Why thank you." Kendall says in an awful pretend British accent. We all laugh and he continues, "Yeah our fans are the best, we're really lucky to have them supporting us."

"Knowing that our music is making a lot of people out there just makes the work worthwhile." Logan agrees.

"But it's not even work for us, we're just a bunch of hockey head goofballs from Minnesota and now we're out here, still goofing off, but also doing what we love and other people love it too." James wraps up. I just stare at the three of them in amazement. I've never heard them talk like that before, it was just, wow, and I was pretty much speechless. But when I did find words to say, they didn't even describe how I truly felt.

"Wow…that was just, wow. I hope I get to feel that someday." I breathed out.

"You will." Logan said wrapping an arm around my shoulders in a comforting matter.

"Before you even know it and soon you'll be wishing you were back in this stage of fame." James joked.

"I guess you're right." I lightly laugh out.

"Okay, I can't take it anymore." Kendall suddenly said as he got up off the couch and started walking around the room a bit.

"Can't take what?" I ask curiously. What's eating away at him?

"I've been trying to hold this in and the guys told me not to say anything but I just got to." He says with a hint of nervousness moving across his face.

"…Okay…" I say really confused. What in the world was he trying to tell me?

"Kendall, you sure you want to ask?" James asks warily.

"Yeah, I mean it's really not your business." Logan reasons.

"But I'm worried, okay?" Kendall says throwing his arms up in the air.

"We are too but we're restraining ourselves." James counters.

"Well I can't do that when one of my good friends." Kendall said. Okay this was weird, is it weird that I've never heard him say the term 'friend' in a while?

"Can _someone_ just spit it out already?" I almost yell at them.

"I just wanna know, are you okay?" Kendall asks loudly immediately after me.

"Am I 'okay'?" I restate. Really? _That's_ it? "That's you big question?" I ask confused.

"You know, like when you were at the studios earlier today…" Logan says.

"You were, _really_ upset, and then Carlos ran after you." James continues.

"And we haven't seen you since then." Kendall finishes looking straight at me as he sits down at the couch adjacent to the one I was sitting at.

"Oh…" I said as I plant my legs firmly on the ground, since I was sitting cross legged before and I leaned my elbows on my thighs and decided that staring at the bowl on the coffee table was more interesting than meeting any of their eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry he's being pushy…" Logan says rubbing my back gingerly.

"Hey…" Kendall whines from the other side.

"But we were just, well…" James says trailing off not knowing exactly what to say.

"We were worried about you." I then look up at Kendall who just said that. I stared at him and he looked really upset and it made me upset just thinking I was making him this upset, I'm not used to seeing him upset, I've never seen him like this. Then I look over at Logan and James and they looked the same. I could tell that as soon as they walked into the room they were distracted by something, was it me that had their minds off somewhere else, were they that worried about me?

"Guys…" I almost whisper, but nonetheless the guys heard me anyway. "I'm okay, really." I say looking up at Kendall first, then turning to James and Logan who decided to be on either side of me. "It's, it's just the song I sang, it, really had an affect on me." I was having trouble breathing, I felt my voice was shaky and I felt Logan put his hand back on my back to calm me down and not before long James took my hand and used his thumb to rub the top of my hand.

I mean I was a little flushed I could tell already just having so much attention on me right now, even though there was only three of them it felt like three _hundred_ people were staring, I knew I was now turning beat red as I looked at James and his sincere eyes. I felt my heartbeat pick up a bit, and I think I was making him nervous because I felt his hand tense and almost lift off mine but I gave him a gentle squeeze to reassure him I was fine with this. His facial features softened and he continued to use his thumb to rub my hand.

"We could hear parts of the song you were singing, mainly the ending of it, but it was a pretty, powerful song." James said.

"Yeah," I sigh, thinking over if I should tell them the rest or not. I took another shaky breath and decided there wasn't going to be a better time than now. "The real reason why it made me upset, was because…mainly because it reminded me of," I take a breath again, "L-Lukas." Damn, I tried so hard to make sure I wouldn't stutter but I did.

"You're ex-boyfriend?" Logan asked.

"Y-Yeah." I stutter again, I was mentally smacking myself. "I know, I know I probably sound like a sap but I, I don't know what came over me, just the lyrics and the meaning behind them, it just cut right through me."

"He meant a lot to you." Kendall stated.

"I guess…but I shouldn't be grieving over it still…it had to end." I said as I tried rubbing my arms, trying to get rid of the cold chill I was getting from just talking about it openly again, in the same day.

"Sounds messy." James stated. I stopped rubbing my arms and looked up at him and nodded and sighed.

"You have no idea…" I said brushing some hair that didn't need brushing behind my right ear.

"Hey, okay I'm ready to head out and…" Carlos came bouncing into the room with all his swim gear and shades on his nose. Then he stopped in his tracks when he saw how quiet and serious we were acting, and particularly was staring at me and I looked away. "Hey," he says as he drops his stuff and throws his shades off on the counter and sits on the coffee table across from me. "What's the matter? I thought we turned that frown upside down by now…?"

"Don't worry, nothing's wrong." I try to muster out a smile but it came out weak, well I couldn't see my smile but I could tell by Carlos' reaction he wasn't buying it.

"Did you guys bring up you-know-what?" Carlos asked in a tone I've never heard him use before, anger.

"Carlos…" I trail off grabbing his arm to get him to look at me and not scowl at his friends. "It's fine, they were worried. I thought I'd ease their troubled minds."

"But you didn't have to tell them."

"I know; that's because I wanted to. I shouldn't hide my break up from them."

"But we still don't really know what happened." Logan says.

"Well, basically ever since Lukas and I started dating, he's been very protective of me. But after our first year of being together, it went to a new level of extreme. He always wanted to be around me, always wanted to know what I was doing and where I was going and with whom. And if I was hanging out with a guy or a group of people and guys were with me and my friends, he'd flip."

"What? Did he not trust you or something?"

"No, he did. He just didn't trust anyone else."

"That's a little paranoid don't you think?"

"Well that's what I told him, that's what I've always told him but he just scuffs it off and pretends like he has no idea what I'm talking about or when I feel super persistent sometimes he would just make up some excuse to say why he was acting that way."

"And you, believed him?" Logan asked surprised.

"Well I did for a while, but then my friends, mainly Tess, pointed out that he was getting out of control. He was almost at the point when he was more like a security guard than anything else. So I confronted him about it and he just brought up you guys." I sighed as I ran a finger through my hair.

"Us? Why'd he do that?" James asked curiously.

"Because he saw the pictures of us online." I said.

"There were pictures of us online?" Kendall asked, he looked calm and said it in a steady voice but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was freaked out.

"You didn't, know?" I asked them as I turned to all of them.

"Well, no, not really. How many?" Carlos asked.

"Well there were some I posted on my Pin Pointer, but then apparently there were some he found online that suggested I was dating one of you guys, and so he got really frustrated and first started blaming me and saying I was cheating on him, which I wasn't."

"But technically-" Logan was going to state probably what happened in the elevator or worse, what happened at the airport, IF he even knew about that.

"That doesn't count." I interrupt and when I said it I avoided all eye contact with Kendall. "Anyway, he was yelling at me, and I was yelling at him for acting ridiculous and overreacting. Oh and we were at his house. So I tried convincing him that he should trust me but he just was claiming that I had to now tell him everything about everything I was going to do and then I got fed up and left." I saw Carlos looking at me from the corner of my eye and again I pushed back some hair behind my right ear that didn't need pushing back.

"I'm, I'm sorry Amber." James said as he looked at my sympathetically. I smiled at him and nodded. He then gave me a surprise hug and I took it kindly and then felt a tear run down my face that I could tell Kendall saw as he watched us hug but I brushed it away before anyone else could see and I regained my composure. I didn't want to lose it for the second time that day.

"Okay! No more sad talk! We need to have a fun little us time while we still have it."

"Yeah, who knows how long we're gonna have until Gustavo calls us down to the studios again…" James trailed off as he and the rest of the boys got off the couches and were headed for the door, as I remained on the couch, nonmoving.

"Hey, are you coming Amber?" Kendall's voice got my attention. I look up at him and then at the others sympathetically.

"You know, I think I'll be there in a second, I just need a little alone time for a bit, do you mind if I just stay here?" I ask shyly.

"Sure, but you sure you want to be cooped up in here by yourself?" He asks.

"Sure, you guys go have fun." I say to them as I wave my hand bye.

"You know, I just remembered I have a book to catch up on. It's on the neuroscience of the brain." Logan said as he pretended to slap himself for forgetting.

"Snore! Can't you leave that for later?" Carlos complains loudly.

"I've been holding it off since we came back from tour, I need to make a dent in it at least." He said as if he was going to start begging soon.

"Alright man, you stay here and be your nerdy self, we're going to go outside in the nice sunshine and get awesome tans without you." James says, trying hard to get his bud to come along.

"I can get it whenever I want, the sun's not going anywhere for a while." Logan reasons.

"Okay then, we'll see you guys around." Kendall says as the two of us wave in sync as the door closes behind them and Logan and I are left to the apartment.

"Okay, so tell me what really happened?" Logan suddenly turns around to me and crosses his arms.

"Huh?" I say tilting my head to the side, plainly showing my confusion.

"I know you're not saying everything, you're sugarcoating it. Don't forget, I'm the smart one." He said tapping his head with his pointer finger.

"I didn't forget," I reassured him. How on Earth could I? "And there's nothing else that really matters. And is this the only reason was to stay here with me? To interrogate me?"

"That's not true, something's clearly bothering you. And also it's not false what I said, I do have a book on neuroscience I have to read, but I've already started it and it clearly states that behavioral functions, most closely associated with how you're acting, show that you're hiding something."

"Wow, you really are the smart one?" I say sarcastically. "I think you should lay off the books." I said rising out of my spot on the couch and standing to face him. "Too much reading I think has been proven to corrupt people. And who said I was hiding anything?" I said as I pushed some hair behind my ear, for real this time and turned around to pace the rest of the room I haven't covered yet.

"Then why do you keep pushing your hair behind your ear?" Logan accused me. I turn around to face him, since I had my back to him, and looked at him like he was crazy.

"Because it's in the way." I reason.

"But it wasn't before when you were talking about your break up with us." He retorts.

"I was feeling uneasy, much like I am now." I state.

"Behind every action there's a notion." He said like he was quoting someone.

"Where'd you get that from?" I ask annoyed.

"It's common knowledge Amber, now what are you leaving out? Is it about kissing Kendall?" He asks.

"Wh-What?" I sputter out, more confused than ever.

"Stuttering: another sign of hidden meaning." He states like he was a recording.

"Okay! Stop it. And no, I'm not jittery because of that. I was drunk, and he was drunk." I state simply as I was going to push some hair behind my right ear again but I hit my hand away from my face before I could do so.

"Yeah but were you at the airport?" He states as he comes closer to me and almost whispers it.

"I don't know what you mean…" I said taking a step back.

"Don't play dumb," He says harshly at me, probably harsher than he intended because he saw that I was shrinking back and that I probably looked rather hurt by his rudeness. So he sighs and takes a pause before continuing. "When you were getting smoothies, you were taking too long, so I was elected to go look for you and well that's what I did, I found you, kissing Kendall."

"Oh…" I say trailing off. I thought we were pretty hidden, but of course not from Mr. Smarty Pants Logan. "Does anyone else know…?" I asked warily.

"No, not even Kendall knows I know. I was waiting for him to tell me when he was ready, but he never did." He reassured me, although I didn't feel very reassured.

"Before you accuse me of being a cheater and being a horrible person, he tried kissing me first, and then he did kiss me, and then I just kissed him because I never thought I'd see him again and didn't think it mattered." I said, wow I can't believe I said that, but I didn't want to get into those feelings I had.

"A kiss is a kiss. And that doesn't change anything." Logan states firmly.

"But that's not the reason why I broke up with Lukas." I say bringing back matters to the subject at hand. "Lukas didn't even know about that little incident. No one was ever supposed to know that happened, unless Kendall felt like telling you guys eventually. But I'm guessing that now I'm here in LA he wasn't going to tell anyone."

"True. But then why did you break up with Lukas?" He asked.

"Because we got into a fight." I said sternly.

"You've said that already and I've already told you that I think there's something else, I can see it." He said accusingly again.

"No, no you can't see it. There's nothing to see." I said tucking my hair protectively over my ear.

"Wait…" He said. I didn't like that look in his eye, and especially when it was staring at my hand as it moved from my ear to my side. He then all of a sudden grabbed both my right arm and used his other hand to move the hair from my ear and to the side faster that I could even react and by the time I did, it was clear that he saw what I was kept covering this whole time.

"I cant' believe I didn't see it before. You're nervousness, your huddling over yourself, like you were protecting yourself." He said as he ran a finger through his short hair.

"Logan-"

"I can't believe, someone that cared for you that much, although too intensely in my opinion, would dare, no, even _think_ of laying a hand on you!" He says aggravated and frustrated beyond belief, yet another side I've never seen of Logan.

"NO!" I shout at him. He immediately stops in his tracks and looks over a me like I was crazy or something. "He didn't hit me or abuse me! It was an accident."

"You're _defending_ what he did to you? That's just-"

"Do you want to know what happened?" I say angrily at him. He just stares at me and gives me a knowing look as he just stands there waiting. "When I tried to leave the house, he pulled me back in and locked the door and grabbed my arm so he could take me somewhere, probably to his room where it was more private to talk.

"But I didn't let it go that far because I shoved him off of me and then shoved him again to get more distance between us, but then he of course got rallied up and shoved me back a bit. He probably only did it to intimidate me a bit, but he didn't plan for me to trip over the rug on the floor and hit my head on the kitchen counter." I sighed and breathed angrily and unsteadily for a bit as Logan was standing, not saying a word. That just got me more ticked off that I already was.

"Are you happy now? You satisfied with that answer?" I yell at him. I don't even wait for him to answer as I then collapse to my knees and just catch my breath. I haven't said it aloud in such a long time it really just took everything out of me. I didn't even hear when Logan's footsteps came closer to me until he was almost on top of me.

He knelt down to my level and he waited there until I realized and looked up at him. He then just grasped me in a hug and held me for a few moments until I finally relaxed into his shoulder and brought my arms around him and let a few silent tears fall down my cheeks.

"You know what? This is going to sound wrong but I am happy you told me." He said quietly and calmly into my ear. "I'm happy you said it out loud, in the real world. Something like that can stir inside you and won't leave you alone until it's released. From the way you were acting and hiding away from that part of the story, your past; meant you weren't brave enough to face it, let alone say it aloud."

"So, you did this, to help me finally 100% move on?" I ask, trying to wrap my head around Logan's reasoning for this whole thing.

"That was the plan." He said shining that crooked smile at me as he brushed some stray tears from my face. I wasn't crying anymore but they weren't dripping down my face like I thought they were.

"Well then why didn't you start out like that?" I say as I nudge him as I was now staring at him and not cuddled into his shoulder anymore.

"Because you probably wouldn't have told me if I didn't get you angry first."

"…You surprisingly know me too well." I said looking at him funny and we both end up laughing.

"Yeah, I'm surprised how well it all worked out." He said standing up, still with that big almost goofy crooked grin on his face, like it was permanently plastered there now.

"Okay now don't you go and get a big head, mister." I said as he helped me off the ground. "Can we go to the pool now? I think I need to get out of this room."

"I was just about to suggest that actually." He says.

"Wow you really are the smart one aren't you?" I joke as I nudge his side.

"It's taken you this long to realize?" He says smirking at me and I shove his face away from me jokingly.

"Nope." I said popping the P and we both laugh a bit.

"Okay, I'm just, going to change. Why don't you go to your room and do the same and I'll meet you at your room." Logan suggests.

"Okay, sound like a plan." I agree.

"Okay, see you in a bit." He says as he starts heading to his room.

"Oh wait, Logan?" I call after him. Thankfully he pokes his head out his bedroom door.

"Yeah?" He answers.

"Thanks, although you were VERY, very annoying in the way you went about getting me to spill my guts out, I really appreciate it." I said as I look down bashfully.

"Sure thing." He says and I look up at him and he's smiling at me.

"But I don't want you to go blabbing your mouth off to the rest of the boys. I should tell them about, you know, everything." I say sternly to him although I couldn't keep the smile off my face now. His smile was quite contagious.

"Don't worry, your secret_s_ are safe with me." He says winking at me. I didn't mean all the things he knew, but since he said he'd keep my _secrets_ I'll hold him to that. So I wave goodbye and excuse myself from the room and head down the elevator to my bedroom and pull out a dark green bikini I wanted to wear and take out a blue striped romper to cover up my body since it was against Bitters' regulations to get around in just a bathing suit in the lobby.

"Amber you ready?" I can hear Logan call from outside my room.

"Wow you got ready quick." I call back from my room as I was still gathering up everything but particularly looking around for my flip-flops. "Oh and my door's open so you can come in and make yourself comfy."

"You're going to be _that_ long?" I could now clearly hear Logan's voice as I heard my door close gently.

"I'll just be a minute. Unlike you, I do need more to change."

"True that." He states and I hear the material of my couch make a noise, meaning he was sitting down waiting. Meaning I had to hurry up, so I threw on my bathing suit and put on my flip-flops as I was adjusting my romper as I was leaving my room and out into the open living room/kitchen area.

"Sorry, still trying to get my stuff organized. I mean I love how nice Kendall's mom was to organize everything for me when I wasn't around to do it, but now I can't find anything."

"It's okay. You, you look great by the way." He said sort of sheepishly. Aw, he's adorable.

"Why thank you." I said nodding at him and giving him a quick hug. "Now let's get going, I don't want to miss out on the good LA sun, I haven't had much time to soak up the nice rays."

"Well as long as you don't get skin cancer." Logan says.

"You would be the one to bring that up." I said laughing. I've heard that he and the rest of the boys don't like wearing sun block.

"Well I don't care much about that, but I thought you would."

"Once again, you know me too well."

"I'm good at that sort of thing." He says smiling crookedly at me again.

"Don't I know it." I say, and on that note we head out of my apartment and down the elevator to the pool. I forgot just how nice the pool was, and it didn't take us that long either to spot the pretty boy of the band soaking up the beautiful sun as he lay on his lounge chair with his eyes close and arms out like he was meditating, ha, yeah right.

"Hey James." I say, disturbing him I could tell by how he tensed and he slowly opened his eyes, he then looked up at me and smiled brightly.

"Hey Amber, and Logan. You decided to come after all." He says waving to his bud.

"Yeah, being cooped up in that stuffy room we decided wasn't a good way to spend this lovely, peaceful afternoon." Logan says as he plops his stuff down next to my stuff I already had dropped by my feet.

"Just like I said. In LA, if you don't take advantage of this prime time tanning moment, then you'll never have them." James sighs as he continues to soak up the rays as he extends his hands out, like he was physically capturing the sun or having it drawn all over him, and him alone.

"Wow, that almost sounded philosophical." I tease and he sticks out his tongue at me and I can't help but laugh.

"That's the rule I live by." He says and I laugh as I put my stuff down and take off my romper, along with my shoes and lay down on the lounge chair.

"Hey where's Kendall?" Logan asks.

"He went off somewhere, I think he might've seen Jo or something."

"Who's Jo?" I ask curiously.

"You haven't heard about Jo?" Logan asks surprised. What he was making such a big deal out of?

"Uh, nope, don't think I have? Why, who is she?" I ask again.

"She's-" James looked like he was about to say but then got a weird and puzzling look on his face, and then he decided to change his mind and shut up. I turn around to face Logan playing dumb and looking off into the distance like nothing just occurred behind me.

"Logan…"

"Really, it's nothing really, Jo's a good friend."

"Then why is there so much secrecy?"

"Because…because we wanted you to introduce her to you ourselves and not have it so you found out, like this!"

"Right!" James agrees as he nods his head quickly.

"Okay…" I say as I raise my eyebrow at them suspiciously.

"Why don't you just relax, stay a while, and enjoy the nice weather."

"Well it's hard to argue with that." I say as I sit down on the chair that I was next to. "Hey Logan how about you-" I turned around to face my dark haired friend to find that he wasn't behind me anymore. "Wait, where'd he go?" I said scanning the area and then looked quickly over the pool.

"I'll give you a hint." James suddenly whispers in my ear, which startles me a bit, but I try to hide that part as much as I can while he points off towards the door where I saw Logan standing talking with a girl our age slightly shorter than him with pretty long brown curly hair.

"Who's that?" I ask curiously.

"That's Camille, she's a method actress, and our good friend." James informs me, as it was some top secret.

"Are she and Logan dating?" I ask curiously as I turn to face him.

"They're, a complicated case." James summarizes as best as he can.

"Well they look like they're on, for now anyways." I say looking back at the couple, observing the body language between the two. It was like watching a soap opera, there was drama and there was romance, and then they ran off somewhere to do something I don't want to think about…

"Alright-y then." I sigh as I adjust my chair and lay down flat so I can start tanning. I could feel eyes wonder over my body and I refrained myself from immediately grabbing my cover up or the towel I was lying on to cover my bare stomach. I was trying to build up some self confidence since I've never been pleased with my body, but I had to admit I did have a nice body and I shouldn't be ashamed of it and if people want to glance my way that's fine with me…I guess…

"So, was it hard?" I hear James' voice pipe up from next to me.

"Was what hard?" I ask with one eye open.

"You know, to get into the killer shape that you're in." He commented, as he kind of looked me over. Wait, so, technically I could say he was checking me out. Okay, weird thought, I better not be blushing. I took a calming breath so that I wouldn't start freaking out that he was complimenting me.

"Really I'm not that great into shape, and if it looks like I am then it's a good day for me." I say.

"You must have a workout plan or diet or something…" He says as he tried to figure out my secret, like I was hiding something from him.

"Really you're giving me too much credit. It may not look like it but I'm a pig when it comes to eating, I just thankfully have a great metabolism I built up thanks to all the track I did in high school and partially at Yale. And I danced once a week, if I was even that lucky."

"Well it sure paid off." He said smiling that dazzling smile of his.

"Well what about you mister wash-board abs, what's your diet plan?" I say as I casually look at his abs that were showing underneath his tight black tank top.

"So you were checking me out." He says happily. "Well here's a better view." He says and he strips his shirt off and gets comfy as he shows off his perfect, and I mean beautifully sculpted body off. I roll my eyes and try my best to maintain as much eye contact with him as possible so it wasn't obvious that his abs were so distracting. "Anyway to answer your question I watch what I eat, but not always very attentively but enough to keep in shape, then I always go to the gym and do my famous workouts."

"Hm, maybe I should join you one day. I need to get back into shape, I really need to keep up with Mr. X the next time he feels like whipping me into shape." I sigh as I remember how exhausted I felt after I finished my first choreography with him.

"Sure, I can give you all my best tips." He boasts, which gets me to laugh a bit.

"Sounds awesome." I say.

"So what else did you do back home?" He asks.

"Hm, well, I was in the drama club at school, starting my second semester of sophomore year and continued until my last few hours in Yale. I was also on the debate team, did a few clubs here and there, and really nothing much else."

"Oh come one, there has to be more to life back home than school life."

"Well what exactly do you wanna know?" I ask as I have chosen to support myself on my elbows.

"What were your friends like?"

"Well as a totally non-bias party that has nothing to do with the topic of choice whatsoever, my friends were awesome." I say sarcastically as we both laugh. "But really I loved my friends, there would be days on end when we would be staying at each other's houses constantly, going to get quick smoothie or coffee runs during free time at school, and just being our goofy selves."

"If you had to list four of your best friends, who'd they be?"

"Only four?" I ask.

"Those are my guidelines, which are mandatory." He states as he awaits for my answer.

"Gosh," I say as I think things over a bit, I had so many people in my life I considered to be incredibly close with, I couldn't simply chose four without feeling slightly guilty with giving someone the boot. "Well for obvious reasons I'd say right off the bat Tess, the girl you met last year, is one my closest buds, EVER. We've known each other since birth, we have the same birthday, our parents were in adjacent rooms from each other and our dads got to know each other as they were pacing the rooms outside." I pause and reflect on all the times I've spent with Tess over my life, we're inseparable, not having her here I've finally realized is super weird, and sure we've been texting each other, but it's hard with the time change, especially since she's now in Beijing with her family for the vacation.

"Go on…" James said, "That's one down, three to go."

"Okay, hmm, I'd say next in line or the next person I can think of at the top of my head would have to be, well I'm going to say two because one's not over the other. I'd say the next two would be Lydia and Nick, you met them last year too, and they're super cool and I love them and the energy they bring with them and basically radiate is great to have. They also know how to cheer me up in an instant. I don't get to see them as much as I do Tess, since we both went to Yale together and all, but I got to see Nick on some weekends since he went to Penn State. But I would always be texting Lydia since she goes to UCLA."

"And now here it comes, the knuckle cruncher, the last friend you'd pick."

"Gosh I can't do that." I sigh as I shake my head.

"So you're going to stop with just those three?" He asks.

"I think I might have to, because if I say one more person, I can immediately think of someone I think of in almost the same way or just as strongly as that person. But I have many friends and love them all. Even you and the other guys are very close on my list."

"Well I guess not close enough since I was hoping you'd mention us as your four friends." He said pretending to pout.

"No wonder you were so specific!" I almost gasp as I give myself a slap to the forehead like I was in that commercial for V8.

"I'm surprised you didn't catch on to that one." He said chuckling at my behavior as I stick my tongue out at him, which of course just gets him to laugh even more.

"Yeah, I'm a little oblivious. If that was one thing I could change about myself, it would be that, I would like to be more in the know with my surroundings." I say as I laugh at myself and James can't suppress his laughter either. "So, what about you? Have you and the boys been inseparable like my friends and I?"

"Well we all grew up together, our families because of that are incredibly close, and so even if we didn't mean to see each other we would. Then we all loved hockey and were on Team A for our league from middle school through high school. It's hard to picture memories of home without pictures of the guys flooding through my head, and now we're out here living the dream, something, me personally, I've always wanted but never imagined would come true."

"Wow, James Diamond I'm very impressed." I sigh.

"You weren't before?" He asks while tilting his head to the side and I can't help but laugh but I do manage to slap his arm in a joking matter.

"No, I definitely was by you, and the other boys too of course." I quickly say not to give him the wrong idea. "I'm just surprised by how close your bond is with the rest of the boys."

"Well we're all like brothers now." He says sitting up and swinging his legs off to the side of the chair so he was facing me. "We do everything together, and we always got each other's backs."

"Well it really shows how much you care for each other."

"But you know at the same time we also all care for Katie and Momma Knight. I mean Kendall of course always has because Katie and Momma Knight are his family but we've all become a big family. We even care for Kelly, you, Gustavo,"

"Wait, what?" I ask a little stunned and a little perplexed.

"What? Is it that shocking I said Gustavo, I mean I know it looks like we fight a lot and he is really bossy and loud-"

"No, who'd you say before that?" I ask interrupting him.

"Oh, Kelly, we always care for her because even though she's older she really looks out for us when Gustavo goes crazy mad-"

"NO, in between Kelly and Gustavo…?" I ask.

"Oh, I think I might've said you." He says sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck.

"That's what I thought I heard." I said laughing and he just smiles at me sweetly.

"Well we all gotten to know you and I know I'm very happy I've gotten to know you. You're a really awesome person."

"R-Really?" I stutter out. Wow, he's being so open with me, it's a little quick I guess but it's very sweet and I really appreciate honesty in people. "Thanks James. You're not so bad yourself." I say smiling at him and we both chuckle a bit. We both stop and he just sort of looks at me in a way I can't exactly explain in words.

"You know, I don't know if you know this or not, but I really like you." He said leaning in and whispering the little 'secret' into my ear.

"Well I like you too." I say as he pulls back to see my reaction.

"No, I mean, I _really_ like you." He said putting a hand on my hand.

"O-Oh. I, I didn't know that actually." I said just sitting there staring at his hand. I didn't want to move away because I didn't want to hurt his feelings, and also because he had really nice baby soft hands.

"I know I'm being, very front with how I'm feeling but I just, I don't know how to act around you."

"What? Why?"

"Because I've never really felt, like this before, and never wanted to get to know someone so badly before either."

"Well you can always get to know me. And just be yourself, because you're a great person James and you shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable around me."

"But I just worried if I'm too much of myself that you won't like me." He said looking down at our hands.

"James…Don't you go thinking like that." I said putting a hand on top of his hand that was already on mine, but he still didn't look up. "You're a great person James, I mean I'm not going to lie but you're not perfect, but no one in this world is perfect, frankly if you were perfect I would be a little freaked out."

"You would?" He asked perplexed, meeting my eyes.

"Yeah, because then I wouldn't know how to act around you then."

"But you're perfect." He counters.

"Trust me, no I'm not." I state as I look away.

"But that's not what I see." He says taking his other hand and using it to grab my chin and makes it so I have to look at him.

"Then you're letting your mind wonder because I'm definitely not perfect."

"You're in denial." He says laughing at me.

"Whatever you say…" I say rolling my eyes.

"Alright, if it's whatever I say, then I say you're pretty damn perfect."

"You're delusional." I say laughing at him.

"If I am it's the best thing that's ever happened to me." He says sweetly and I just stare in almost awe at him as he just moves closer to me. He starts to close his eyes and he's dangerously close. I can't just let this happen. So I start leaning and scooting back slowly so that our lips don't meet, but he just keeps coming closer and then I realize that I don't have enough chair to keep leaning back and then up falling out of my chair and backwards onto the ground with a yelp.

"A-Amber?" He says getting up from his chair and helping me up carefully. I sigh as I sit down on my lounge chair again and rub my head as it kept throbbing from its introduction it had to the ground.

"Well that wasn't what I intended."

"Y-You okay?" James asked. I looked up at him and saw he was worried but I also saw he looked like he was hurt.

"I'm sorry." I sighed out as I stared at him intently, trying to make it obvious I didn't want to break eye contact. "I just, you saw how big of a mess I was before over my old boyfriend, I just don't think…I don't think I'm ready for trying anything yet."

"Oh, okay. Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because I, I don't know, I mean, I just enjoyed talking to you I just didn't know how to say that."

"So are you saying…?" He asked, but he didn't need to finish, I already knew what he was getting at. I look away and bit my lip nervously before I answered.

"I'm not sure yet…possibly?" I shrug my shoulders as I just stare up at him.

"So I have, I have a chance?" He asked hopefully and almost surprised.

"Just give me time, and we'll find out, okay? It's just a bit too early." I confess.

"I can understand that." He said.

"Y-You can, you do?" I asked shocked at his understanding attitude.

"Yeah, I'm just sorry I tried forcing myself on you too soon. I feel bad." He turned his face away from me.

"No, no don't feel bad." I said grabbing his face and pushing it so he was facing me again. When I realized what I was doing I slid my hand off his face slowly and then continued. "It's okay, really."

"Okay, but can we just go back to normal for now?"

"I think we can manage that." I said smiling at him. He smiled back and I then go back to lying down on the lounge chair. As I closed my eyes I began to relax and just enjoy hearing the splashing of the water coming from the pool. I would've stayed like that all day but then I could tell, even with my eyes closed, someone was blocking the sun.

"Whoever it is above me could you please move?" I ask as nicely as I could although I was obviously frustrated. I was pale and I would like to get a tan.

"I would if I didn't need you for something." I heard a familiar voice come from above me. I opened my eyes and placed a hand above my eyes to block the light when the person decided to move. Apparently it was Kelly.

"Oh, hi Kelly…wait, why are you here?" I ask as I lean on my elbows to support myself.

"Gustavo has some new songs he wants you to try out for him."

"Have you heard them?"

"Yeah, and they're pretty good, and don't worry, they're not about love."

"Alright, then I'll give them a chance." I sigh, obviously I didn't want to go, but if it was for anything else I wouldn't have moved, but since this was for my upcoming career in the music business, every minute I knew counted. I get up off the lounge chair and slip the romper I had over my body and was putting on my flip-flops when I turned around to see James watch me getting ready to leave.

"Rain check?" I ask.

"Definitely." He said as he gets up I'm already done with getting everything together and we hug, and right before we pull apart he kisses me on the forehead and as I stand there a bit shocked he just turns me around and gives me a light shove forward towards Kelly. Right before I followed Kelly out of the Palm Woods, I look back at a smiling James as he waves me goodbye. I roll my eyes but I can't help but smile a bit. I wave and then jog a bit to catch up with Kelly.

"So, since when have you two been a thing?" Kelly asks me as we head to her car in the parking lot.

"W-What? Me and J-James?" I stutter. Man I gotta stop doing that. I took a breath and continued. "We're not dating."

"Well you sure do have chemistry by the looks of it." She teases. It's funny seeing this side of her, but at the moment I'm not laughing.

"There's nothing going on, I promise. I'm still not ready for a relationship."

"Alright, alright, I gotcha." She says as we pile into her car and we drive off to the studio to get to work. We arrive after about five minutes and we park and leave the parking lot, go up the elevator and go to Gustavo's office, a place I've never been before shockingly enough, and sit down as Gustavo dramatically whirls his chair around with his fingers intertwined.

"How's my superstar-to-be feeling?" He asks.

"Better, I just needed some time to calm down a bit and I feel better. Sorry for, uh, running out like that." I said sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck and looking off to the side.

"It happens, you ready to get started again, I collaborated with, a friend, of mine and I think we came up with some good stuff."

"I'm ready to try."

"Good, then lets head to the studio already and get cranking."

"Alright then." I say as the three of us leave his office and enter the studio where Kelly and Gustavo stay in the control room as I continue to the recording booth.

"Ready when you are." I tell Gustavo. I look at the title of the song on the sheet music in front of me and it's called "Heart of Gold". Sounds interesting, hope I can sing it. Gustavo nods and I hear the music start in the headphones I slip onto my head.

I didn't grab my pen tonight

To wreck your name or start a fight

There's just a couple things I want to say to you

And I know you wouldn't sit down just to hear

So let me spell it out for your deaf ears

It's sad to say but the hear say's more than true

You're everything that everybody warned about

Who am I to tell you what to do?

You're not the type to do what you're told

But let me tell you, you're gonna miss this heart of gold

You seem to prefer bitter endings

The only type that your hands can hold

But let me tell you, you're gonna miss this heart of gold

Can you shut up long enough?

To hear what I have to say just once

We're not gonna talk about it later, now is the time

There's nothing everywhere you've been

You run from none to none again

I won't be here tomorrow, but you just might

You're everything that I can live my life without

Who am I to tell you what to do?

You're not the type to do what you're told

But let me tell you, you're gonna miss this heart of gold

You seem to prefer bitter endings

The only type that your hands can hold

But let me tell you, you're gonna miss this heart of gold

You're gonna miss this

Yeah, you're gonna miss this face

Gonna miss these kisses

Who am I to tell you what to do?

You're not the type to do what you're told

But let me tell you, you're gonna miss this heart of gold

You seem to prefer bitter endings

The only type that your hands can hold

But let me tell you, you're gonna miss this heart of gold

"Wow, I really like the sound. I definitely approve." I say as I put my headphones around my neck.

"That's awesome, now can we go through it another time so we can add your background vocals into it?"

"Sure, I like singing this song." I say smiling. The music plays again and I do some cool sounding background stuff to the song during the chorus and at the ending.

"Alright, I'll go over it with Griffin later, but for now we should move on to the other song I got ready for you."

"Sure, lay it on me." I say putting my headphones back on, this song was titled "Outta Here". This could mean a couple of different things, so I just decided to roll with it. Apparently the vocals were the first thing to start so I started singing immediately.

Get me outta here

'Cause my eyes are burning from these silly tears

That you brought when you show me you don't really care

And you never loved me, someone get me outta this place right now

It's so amazing

How you have so many faces

And you are not that person I thought

That I had fell so deep in love with

You changed up your makeup, your DNA

I can't recognize, you're a stranger to me

I feel so betrayed, what a waste of my heart and me

Get me outta here

'Cause my eyes are burning from these silly tears

That you brought when you show me you don't really care

And you never loved me, someone get me outta this place right now

My body's trembling

It's so, so hard to kick this feeling

Your heart is so cold and now I'm freezing

Wish you could feel the pain, maybe I will arrange it

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

You changed up your makeup, your DNA

I can't recognize, you're a stranger to me

I feel so betrayed, what a waste of my heart and me

Get me outta here

'Cause my eyes are burning from these silly tears

That you brought when you show me you don't really care

And you never loved me, someone get me outta this place

I thought that we were forever

I guess I misunderstood

My fault for thinking you loved me

Or even thinking you ever could

Get me out of here right now

Get me out of here right now

Get me outta here

'Cause my eyes are burning from these silly tears

That you brought when you show me you don't really care

And you never loved me, someone get me outta this place

Get me outta here

'Cause my eyes are burning from these silly tears

That you brought when you show me you don't really care

And you never loved me, someone get me outta this place

Right now, right now, right now

Someone get me outta this place

Right now, right now, right now

Someone get me outta this place

Get me outta here

"I like it, I really like the beat. Wow, another winner, Gustavo you're on a role today! Who was the person you collaborated with? I _have_ to meet this person."

"I knew you'd like it." Came a voice from the door to the recording booth. I whipped my head and saw Kendall leaning against the doorway.

"Wait, you…?" I ask almost surprised as Kendall just smirks at me.

"Yup, I dabble a bit in writing lyrics, and so Gustavo called me up and I helped him out. I'm glad you like it." He admits awfully proud of himself.

"How'd you know, almost exactly, what I wanted to sing, and hear?"

"Well I do know you pretty well." He said as he entered the room.

"That's true." I said laughing as he joins in.

"But I mainly just helped on Heart of Gold, I mean I pitched in ideas for Outta Here but I wrote most if not almost all of Heart of Gold."

"Well I definitely love Heart of Gold." I said.

"Okay, if I could interrupt you two for a second." Gustavo's voice came booming through the speakers of the room and Kendall and I both had to cover our ears a bit.

"What?" I asked clearing out my ears so I could possibly hear again.

"I need to work on cleaning up the songs a bit, so if you two could leave please?"

"Well alright then." Kendall says. He and I leave the recording booth and scoot out of the room quickly. We both laugh at Gustavo's bluntness as we go out and sit down at the couches to chill out for a while.

"So, how'd you come up with Heart of Gold?" I ask curiously.

"Well, from what I know about you, you have so much to offer the world and offer people, if anyone ever foolishly let you go, they obviously didn't know that they were losing something special."

"You came to that conclusion, just like that?" I ask astonished.

"Nope, I've known for a while that there's something about you that most people don't have."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" I ask, obviously not believing him.

"You're really asking me that?" He asks.

"Well, yeah."

"Alright. Well for starters it's amazing how strong and confidant you can be but also not be afraid to express your fears or whenever you're nervous about something. You're so modest about yourself you can't take a compliment without questioning yourself and when you get them your face just lights up.

"You're very clueless sometimes about things and when you get confused you have this face that can make anyone laugh, in a loving way of course. And somehow whenever someone's down you think positively and feel bad when you or someone makes someone sad.

"And when you were sad earlier today the guys and I said that seeing you like that just made us sad, you have such a powerful effect on people and it's all because of that big heart of gold." He said poking the place where my heart was. After that I almost felt like I was going to break down in tears from his honesty and kindness. I didn't know what to do, but the first thing that came to my mind was tackling him in a hug. So, that's what I did.

"Thank you Kendall. That was the most honest thing anyone has ever said to me, ever."

"You're welcome, and you deserve to have people be honest with you. Remember Natalie?"

"How could I ever forget _that_?" I said as I remembered that horrible person who shall not be named again.

"Exactly." He said putting me out at arms length so that he could look straight at me. "That memory of her will always linger. And I know I won't forget how mean of a person she was by lying to you. And ever since then I've promised to always be honest with you."

"Really?" I asked as I laughed a little. That was very cute of him to do. I couldn't help but hug him again and snuggle my face into his chest a bit. God I forgot how much I really liked Kendall. Having him hug me just felt, right, if anyone out there knows what I mean by that. It just felt like I could fit perfectly into his arms. Then I could feel a rumble come from Kendall. I flinch a bit and pull away from him with my eyebrow ridged upwards at him.

"It was my phone, I promise." He said laughing awkwardly. I smile at him and internally sigh in relief. He pulls out his smart phone and I see his expressions change as he reads the message he received on his phone.

"Everything…okay?"

"Huh, yeah, don't worry about it."

"That's the exact thing someone would say when they're worried. What's up?"

"It's just I got a reminder about something I forgot about."

"A bad reminder?"

"Nope, just something I have to keep in mind."

"…Okay." I say. Wow, what just happened? Kendall now was acting very to himself. Way to go for honesty, Kendall. Oh well, maybe it's none of my business and I shouldn't get pushing. "SO, when you were helping write Outta Here with Gustavo, what made you suggest that theme for the song?"

"Oh, well I wanted you to sing something that would almost give you empowerment. A song that would give you strength but also show that even though you're a strong person you're not afraid to ask for help, which I think is something you possess."

"Well I guess that's true. But the song pretty much is about a break up."

"Yup, and I want to help you move on from it."

"Any particular reason?" I ask warily.

"Because you're a great person who deserves someone who's going to be good to you." He said gripping my shoulders tightly. "But since this did happen to you, it's best you now learn that you have to keep trudging through the hardships and eventually have your heart speak for itself and higher above everything else because it's always best to listen to your heart."

"Wow, those would be awesome lyrics for a song."

"You think?"

"Totally, like…" I had to give it some thought before I said anything. "Wait, do you have a pen or something?" I said as I reached across the coffee table that was in front of us and picked up a spare notebook someone left there.

"Yeah, here." He said digging through the jacket he was wearing and pulled one out.

"Do you always carry a pen around with you?" I ask with my eyebrow ridged.

"Nope, but I did today when I was writing your song." He said as he smirked.

"True." I said. I then begin to scribble down some lyrics. It took a little over a minute to get what I finally liked down but once I had it I showed it to Kendall who read it aloud.

"I'm just gonna run right through the rain. I'm just gonna dance right through the pain. I just wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum, let my heart soar higher, let my heart soar higher than my head." He takes a pause and ponder for a bit. "I like the meaning behind it, but I think we should change something in the ending. Like…" He then began to scribble down what he had in mind underneath the last line I wrote down. He handed the notepad back to me and I looked over the new verse.

"Oh yeah, yeah! I like that, a lot actually." I said as I was rereading the little paragraph we composed together.

"Really? Awesome, hey…this could be your next hit." He said excitedly.

"You think?" I question as I keep staring down at the notepad.

"Yeah, we should get to work on it, now." He said.

"Oh okay, let's come up with some other stuff." I said as I pulled some sheets off the notepad and gave them to Kendall as we both started writing furiously down on sheets of paper lyrics that could go with the theme of the song.

It felt like two days flew by as we just sat there, laughing at our lyrics that we didn't like and then getting overly excited about the ones we did when it was only a few hours. And before we knew it we had a song. An amazingly, spectacular song!

Another two hours pass and during it we showed the song to Gustavo who played around with the music and then we finally found something we liked and we all started collaborating and messing around with guitars and keyboards on what would sound best with the song. The other ¾ s of Big Time Rush come and find us all huddled over the studio controls.

"Hey, what's going on?" Came Carlos' voice. The three of us had ourselves bent over the board we spring up to face the guys and they sort of freak.

"Yeah, wait, is that a new song?" James asks as he looks over our shoulders and sees sheet music scattered everywhere.

"It is." Kendall says.

"Cool, who for?" Logan asks curiously.

"It's for Amber." Gustavo answers.

"Yeah Kendall and I wrote it a little while ago." I say proudly.

"Just today?" James asks surprised.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe it sounds this good and it didn't take very long." Kendall pipes up.

"Well then can we hear it?" Carlos asks excitedly as the James and Logan nod their heads in agreement.

"I don't see why not? Gustavo?" I ask as I turn to Gustavo to see what he has to say since he knows what's best.

"I think it's good enough to show now, but we'll continue working on it afterwards since I think it needs some background vocals."

"Okay." I say picking up the finalized song lyric sheets and heading over to the door to the booth.

"Break a leg." Kendall calls after me as I head into the booth. I nod my head and close the door behind me. I go to the mike and slip on the headphones as I a wait for Gustavo to cue me when to start. And since the song starts immediately with the vocals, I wait a second before I start.

I'm staring out of my window

And the rain is pouring down

When you left, I was so low

But I'm not gonna drown

I don't need no shoulder

I'm gonna be a soldier

I just wanna feel something I don't understand

I'm just gonna run right through the rain

I'm just gonna dance right through the pain

I just wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum

Let my heart beat louder

Let my heart speak louder than my head

Heart beat louder than my head

Heart speak louder

Wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum

Let my heart beat loud

Let my heart speak louder than my head

I, I am over, over thinking of how to get you back

I'm checking out for the weekend

And I ain't going back

I don't need no shoulder

I'm gonna be a soldier

I just wanna feel something I don't understand

I'm just gonna run right through the rain

I'm just gonna dance right through the pain

I just wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum

Let my heart beat louder

Let my heart speak louder than my head

Heart beat louder than my head

Heart speak louder

Wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum

Let my heart beat louder

Let my heart speak louder than my head

Oh, letting go

Yeah it feel so good, so right

Oh, all I know

Is that I let my heart beat

Heart speak louder than my louder than my

Heart beat heart speak louder than my louder than my

Heart beat heart speak louder than my louder than my louder, louder, louder, louder

I'm just gonna run right through the rain

I'm just gonna dance right through the pain

I just wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum

Let my heart beat louder

Let my heart speak louder than my head

Heart beat louder than my head

Heart speak louder

Wanna feel that rhythm, feel that drum

Let my heart beat louder

Let my heart speak louder than my head

"Well?" I ask Gustavo who hasn't said a word or reacted to anything unlike the others.

"I…" He said for a long time then he stopped being annoying and said "Like it."

"You do?" Everyone asks in unison, totally shocked.

"Yeah, that's a good way to start your debut as a singer." Gustavo comments.

"Awesome! Thanks Gustavo." I say.

"But, let me work on some songs and now I know what feel you get when you sing, I'll make new songs and I want you to try them." He says.

"That's alright with me." I agree.

"Alright, then now it's time to officially welcome you to the team." Kelly says as everyone cheers in the background with a round of applause.

"Thank you, both of you." I say to Kelly and Gustavo. I walk out of the studio and I walk up to Kelly and give her a hug and then I go up to Gustavo and I was thinking of hugging him but then we just sort of looked at each other and we shook each other's hands. I turn around and immediately the guys are crowded around me asking me how I came up with the song and congratulating me.

"Thanks. And actually I can't take all the credit. I had help," I said winking at Kendall. "But you know, it wasn't just Kendall, I think all of you helped me write this in a way, just from talking to all of you today helped me be able to put my words into lyrics." I explain.

"Well maybe we should collaborate more often." Kendall says.

"If makes another hit like that, then yes. And soon, because Griffin wants more songs, pronto." Gustavo says.

"Let's not talk about business, we should celebrate our new co-worker." Logan says happily as he wraps an arm around me.

"Okay, where to?" I ask.

"Well how about we all have our traditional Fish Stick Friday with a few movies." James says.

"Do you do that every Friday?" I ask.

"Yup." James says.

"It's always been a tradition. So, what do you say? You in?" Carlos asks.

"Sure, why not." I say. "AS LONG, as it's alright with you, Gustavo?"

"Fine. You're free to go for the rest of the day."

"Yes!" I say as I throw my fist in the air and almost jump out the door. The guys laughed at my very vibrant behavior and joined my in my happy skip-walk-jive, whatever it was I was doing as we all decided since it was so nice to walk back to our lovely Palm Woods for yummy fish sticks.

* * *

><p>WOW WASN'T THAT LONG? omg do you realize how long this is...18000 WORDS IN THIS CHAPTER! wow, longest chapter in this whole series! =S hope this made up for my absence and PRETTY PLEASE tell me what you think! 3 i've started the next chapter which will be based off of the episode Big Time Fans (s2e3) and i've started it already so maybe it won't take me as long...but it'll definitely be different from the actual episode, i mean you'll see the similarities but there are twists indeed, GET PUMPED! kay bye for now, need to do work, A LOT OF WORK!<p> 


	9. Big Time Fans

HI EVERYONE! miss me? i know i missed being on here! i've been sick for the past two days :( but don't fret, it gave me time to write and now i have this beautiful fun chapter up for you to read! isn't that exciting? :) well anywho, nothing new to report, hope you enjoy this chapter, based off ep 3 of season 2 of BTR :)

don't own the show, the guys, or any reference to the show just my lil twists and turns and Amber Riley (but not the name)

ENJOY!

* * *

><p>Okay so my day started off early. And when I say early, I mean I was woken up by my annoying phone blasting music in my ear at six thirty in the morning only to met with a louder noise. That noise being Gustavo yelling at me to wake up so I could head down to the studios to meet up with the guys to record or something, I wasn't listening since I was still waking up but I got the general message.<p>

So I got ready. I took a shower, brushed my hair, ate a quick breakfast, brushed my teeth, got dressed, put on light makeup. And met up with the guys to get a ride to the studios. I seriously need to get my own ride sooner or later. But I had to tackle one thing at a time. so we entered Rocque Records and sat in the lounge area at seven fifteen in the morning, everyone grumpy. Oh and did I mention it was a weekend?

"Guys…" Kelly said as she and Gustavo entered the room while they hid huge white bags behind their backs.

"Here's a little thing we like to call," Gustavo trailed off before he and Kelly both yell,

"Fan mail!"

"No way!" Carlos and Logan cheered.

"Cool!" James and Kendall shouted out.

"'Dear Kendall, can you please, please, please, please, please send a photo'." Kendall reads, very happy.

" 'I love BTR but mostly James'." Logan reads while James smiles like an idiot. "Ha! She's wrong." Logan says as he tosses the letter behind his shoulder.

"'Logan, you're my favorite. P.S. Please enjoy this meat load I made for you'." Carlos reads as he holds the glorious food hungrily.

"Meat loaf!" Logan cheers.

"'P.P.S. Please give it to Carlos'." Carlos reads happily.

"That is my meat loaf!" Logan says furiously as he tackles Carlos as he says,

"But you hate meat loaf!" And the two go at it.

"And why am I here again…?" I question as I watch lazily as Carlos and Logan duke it out.

"Hey! I found one about you!" James read, which got everyone's attention, including the tussling boys. "I heard you guys were in a song with someone named Amber Riley, are you going to do more stuff with her?" He read.

"Dear Carlos, are you and Amber dating because you seem very close and you're always hanging out together?" Carlos reads aloud as well as he returned to his seat on the couch next to me.

"I thought we cleared that up on the video chat we did with your fans?" I said aggravated. I still get hate messages and death threats from BTR fans sometimes, they're super crazy.

"I guess some fans like us being together." Carlos says raising his eyebrows all funny.

"Well that's a shame because you're my best bud, _not_ my boyfriend." I state.

"Hi Logan! I love you and the rest of BTR, are you guys going to collaborate with Amber again, she's really cool!" Logan reads in a girl voice. I couldn't help but smile at that letter.

"Can't blame her for having good taste." I say nodding to myself happily. "Remind me to reply to that girl later." I say as I take the letter from Logan's hands.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm sending my fan, a photo." Kendall says happily. A loud siren sounds that gets everyone on their feet and grabs everyone's attention from themselves to Gustavo and Kelly as a huge black board is dragged from the side to display a set of rules.

"'Fan Mail Do's and Don'ts'." The boys and I read aloud.

"DO, keep it short and simple. Write things like 'you rock too!' and 'hey, thanks!'." Gustavo explained with quotations.

"DO, sign your name. All fans _love_ autographs." Kelly said.

"DON'T, give out any personal information or advise. Otherwise some crazed fan will show up on your front door step and ask you to help them to make them famous." There's a moment's silence, but that's interrupted clearly as something out of the blue happens, an ironic turn of events actually would be a better name for the scenario that's about to unfold.

"WAHH!" Kelly and Gustavo scream as the black board falls on top of them as an excited short-ish girl with blonde hair and holding a lot of luggage looks out of breath and looking around and then gets excited when her eyes lay on the boys.

"Jenny Tinkler?" The guys ask shocking in unison.

"Who Tinkled?" I ask as I look from the guys to the enthusiastic blonde with a little too much luggage.

"Guys, I did it! I packed up everything and moved to LA so you can help me be famous like you promised." The girl, Jenny, says excitedly as she drops her stuff and holds out an autographed picture of the boys with a message in silver marker.

The guys look awfully confuse but try to look as enthusiastic as they can be in their little predicament. Gustavo and Kelly get off the floor uneasily as Gustavo is holding a piece of wood from the stand the chalkboard was on.

"So…fan girl. Which of these lads gave you the advice; and the address to my STUDIO!" Everyone looks at each other accusingly until Carlos finally cracks and sprints off somewhere. Gustavo throws down the piece of wood he was holding on the ground in frustration. The boys run off somewhere I don't know as I look at everyone confused.

"If you would excuse us, we'll be right back." I call as I slowly get up from the couch I was sitting on and waving to Jenny nicely as I sprinted off after the boys. I looked around for a bit and found them confronting Carlos and scolding him.

"Okay, can someone please explain me to me what's going on?" I say to get their attention.

"I'll tell you what's going on, Carlos here, ruined our lives!" James exaggerates.

"He didn't 'ruin our lives'," Logan insists, "he just made it that much more difficult."

"What did we tell you about making promises to people you can't keep?" Kendall yells at Carlos.

"But it's Jenny. We _love_ Jenny, plus she said she was our biggest fan."

"She did come all the way from Chicago to see us." Logan says in a reluctant tone.

"Yes, but its JENNY. You know what happens _around _Jenny." Kendall says as he twirls his finger around something that isn't there but meaning around Jenny.

"Bad things." James says sternly. He then looks off into the distance and his features changed to someone who is frightened. "Baaaad things…" He shudders.

"Fine, I'm going to tell the girl that we've been friends with since Pre-K that you guys, don't want to help her." Carlos says accusingly. "And she has to go back, to Minnesota." Carlos mopes as he lets his head hang and his bottom lip stick out as he walks away slowly.

"Stop!" Kendall breaks. Carlos turns around with a big grin on his face. "We are a team. So if Carlos _totally_ messes up, and promised that we would help her, then, we gotta help her."

There's a horrible sound coming from back where we were and the guys look absolutely terrified.

"Jenny!" They all call out knowingly and they all rush back, me along side them, to where we left Gustavo and Kelly with Big Time Rush's biggest fan. We walk in on a scene with Gustavo knocked down on the ground with Jenny with her back to us as she's playing the trombone awfully and Kelly is standing with her back to us as she's trying to get Jenny to stop but Jenny turns around and knocks Kelly out with the trombone.

"Whoa!" The guys panic as they step back from the scene, pulling me back as well. "Easy Jenny, easy there." They all start saying at once not together and sounding like a mess. "Put it down." They say calmly. Jenny stops and stares at the mess around her.

"Wow, you never hear trombone playing like that everyday." Kelly manages to say from her position on the ground as she rubbed her face, the place where she got smacked by the instrument.

"If you can help it…" Gustavo groans, as his voice sounds very hoarse.

"But it's time for the big finale!" Jenny says cheerfully/whines in excitement.

"Whoa, whoa!" The guys all chime together as they're swaying back and forth as to avoid being the next target for Jenny to hit. Jenny's playing the last notes of the song, or whatever, and the sliding part of the trombone flies out of her hand and almost hits Kendall but instead hits a keypad on the wall that falls out of place and starts giving off sparks as Kendall scrambles to get away from it.

"It's starting…" James says in his scared/serious voice that always manages to freak me out.

"Aaahh!" Gustavo yells as he's up off the floor holding apart of a leg from a chair or table of some kind, ready to strike the peppy blonde down.

"No, no, no, no!" Everyone commands as Kelly is trying to get Gustavo under control.

"Sorry! People say I'm a little accident prone." Jenny says as she says it like it was nothing at all.

"A _little_?" I say in amusement and sarcastically as the keypad sparks again. The guys all nudge me. "Okay, probably internally bleeding now." I groan as I rub my sides.

"Get this out of here before it destroys the rest of my studio!" Gustavo yells as he points at Jenny.

"C'mon, let's go make your dreams come true." Carlos says as the guys all scramble to get to Jenny, without being killed, and we all lead her out of the studio and out of Gustavo's hair, well actually out of his head.

"Aw, you guys are the best." Jenny says opening her arms for a hug and stepping forward, the guys freak out and scramble back. Jenny tries again and the same thing happens.

"Stop it." Kendall says as if he was talking to an untrained puppy as we slowly back up and Jenny follows, keeping her distance, until she has to pile into one of the guys' cars and we drive away to the Palm Woods.

When we arrive at the Palm Woods, we pile out of our cars but when all of us are almost out, Carlos' car starts smoking and it collapses onto the cement and the driver's seat door opens and more smokes comes out of the car with Carlos coughing erratically as Jenny pops out saying,

"Does that always happen whenever someone wants to play music?"

"No, it was just, a crazed coincidence." Carlos excuses for obviously Jenny's fault. We all try to calmly enter the Palm Woods without Jenny touching anything, and so far everything looks like it's turning out okay.

"Wow, I can't believe we actually made it here alive." I sigh in relief.

"Yeah, tell me about it." James whispers back as he's puffing his shirt out.

"Have you been, sweating?" I ask questionably.

"What, no, why would I be sweating, it's definitely not because a walking time bomb is on the loose in our home." James says shaking a bit.

"Calm down, nothing's going to go wrong." I soothe.

"I can't believe I'm at the famous Palm Woods. Ah," Jenny sighs happily as she spins around, along with swinging her luggage around, and to a bystander's dismay it hits him square on and he goes toppling into some bags on a cart.

"Sorry…" She says sheepishly. The guys pretend like it's nothing and Jenny joyfully skips over to where Mr. Bitters' was, behind his desk.

"And yet, I stand corrected." I sigh as I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Well, she seems a lot less clumsy than I remember." Logan says on the brighter side of things. The guys all nod their heads in agreement as I just look at them like they've lost it. Carlos steps away from the group to stand in front of all of us.

"She was _worse_?" I question terrified.

"But remember, we _love_ Jenny." Kendall reminds everyone.

"Yeah, and remember the second grade when she broke my arm playing Marbles?" James reminds everyone, very angry that they are now stuck with Jenny. "Or in fifth grade when Jenny gave the first ever paper cut that required _surgery_. And then," James starts to really panic as he grasps his hair in his hands, "in eighth grade…lab partners."

"It took almost a year for your hair to grow back." Logan says remembering the tragic incident.

"I'm out!" James says loudly as he starts to walk away carefree as can be. We can't stop him in time as he disappears off somewhere but we're too distracted by a bloodcurdling scream coming from Mr. Bitters.

"Here you're keys." Bitters says giving Jenny her golden Palm Woods keys. "Have a Palm Woods day." He says struggling to not break down.

"Oo, what a nice stapler." Jenny says from

"Whoa Jenny, put it down! Put it down! Let's go, sorry Mr. Bitters!" The boys all scream as each guy takes something, Carlos drags Jenny away as Kendall and Logan grab her stuff and they book it out of the lobby as quickly as they can.

They all head into the elevator where we all make sure that Jenny doesn't touch or breath on anything or anyone. Well apparently that didn't help anyone because she was jamming to something on her iPod and she was wearing dangly earrings and one of her earrings got caught in my hair and as we were trying to pull it out, well, basically, long story short, the elevator got caught on fire and our clothes were stained and stunk of smoke.

After that we pile out of the elevator and head to Jenny's new room, apartment 2K. Great, she was now going to be neighbors with the boys, wonder how they were all feeling about this. It didn't matter because as soon as we let her into her room, who knew how much damage she could've caused if we let her open the door, and then we told her to get comfy and we'll see her later as we would go and look for bands.

Before she could even answer the door was already closed and we bolted to the guys' place and heaved a sigh of relief when we were free from her dangerous grasp.

"Wow, you guys weren't kidding. She's dangerous." I said as I pet my hair that still hurt from all the yanking it went through to get Jenny's earring out of my hair.

"Tell us about it." They say in unison and we all start laughing until we realized this isn't really a laughing matter and we're quiet for a second.

"So, how do we exactly find a band for her to join?" I ask, breaking the silence. The quicker she found something, the quicker she'd leave and we could go back to living our lives without destruction, or at least without too much destruction.

"Easy." Logan says as we all follow him to where he was headed. He pulled out a pile of magazines and dropped them on the kitchen counter. "So Jenny's dream is to become a lead singer of a band." Logan summarizes.

"And LA is full of bands looking for lead singers." Carlos says happily.

"So there has to be a band desperate enough for a lead singer to want Jenny in one of these magazines." I conclude as we all gathered chairs around the counter and start going through the magazine.

"Oh yeah, there's just one problem, SHE CAN'T SING!" Kendall yells loudly. "Do you remember freshmen choir?" they all took a moment's silence to reflect and then they all shudder at the memory at the same time. It was creepy how in sync they were with one another.

"Right…so we just need to find a band that's looking for a, horrible singer, that may have been sent from Voltraz to destroy the Earth!" Logan says loudly, obviously frustrated. There's a loud crashing noise from behind us and we turn around to see a huge hole in the wall now.

"Whoa!" Kendall exclaims.

"That always happens when I make toast." Jenny says as she dusts herself off the ground and smiles at the guys and I. "Oh wait, I never caught your name." She says staring at me now.

"Oh, I'm Amber Riley." I say shyly.

"Oh, wait! _You're_ Amber! I'm a huge fan! I've seen your videos on Tube World and that song you wrote, it's amazing!" She cheers happily. I smile at her childish behavior, but it's immediately wiped off my face when she starts approaching me.

"Hold you horses, slow down, there's no need for that!" The guys all start yelling at once when Jenny tries approaching.

"Uh, thanks I guess." I say as I wave to her. Jenny nods happily.

"Oh, do you want some?" Jenny asks as she holds a burnt piece of bread that looked like it was dropped in volcano.

"NO, We're Good!" They all say again in unison.

"It's so exciting being in LA, and being neighbors. Aw, and now we have connecting rooms." She sighs happily and easily pushes her way through the hole she just made in the wall back to her room as we all slide down back into the seats we were in before.

"She's gonna kill us!" Carlos hisses, obviously now very panicked about their situation.

"But not if we kill her first!" Logan says evilly, although in the moment it didn't sound like a half bad idea.

"Nobody is killing anybody." Kendall says stopping that conversation from going any further.

"Really?" I ask surprised.

"We can do this, we never break a promise." Kendall says as he looks at the upside of things. "SO stop promising stuff!" Kendall then hisses into Carlos' ear. The door swings open and a very upset and in pain Mr. Bitters mopes into the room.

"Get rid of it! Your friend has been here for two hours and so far has trashed an elevator, broken a water mainframe, ruined my favorite pen," He says pointing to the pen that looked painfully stabbed into his hand, "and has started two fires!" He says exasperated. Sirens are heard from the hallway as red lights were flashing and two firefighters walk by the open door to the next room.

"…Make that _three_ fires." He says as he runs after the firefighters. We all just collapse in our arms and sigh, super aggravated in our situation.

"If she stays here any longer, she'll burn the whole place down." I sigh.

"Then we have to work harder and find her a job somewhere." Carlos tries raising everyone's hopes to no avail.

"But how if she's horrible?" Logan asks aggravated.

"You guys, I think we have to break it to her." Kendall sighs as he massages his temples.

"Do we have to?" Carlos whines.

"Despite the fact that she's really accident prone and she can't sing, she's a really nice person and I don't think I could see her feelings hurt." I state.

"What else can we do?" Logan asks.

"We can't just keep lying to her saying she can make it." Kendall adds.

"…I guess, not." I sigh in defeat. "Let's just get it over with then."

"This is probably going to be the hardest thing yet…" Carlos says.

"Yeah…" We all sigh.

"But before we tell her we have to get prepped." Logan says. He looks to the other guys and they seem to understand what he meant as I just tilt my head in slight confusion.

"Prepped for what?" I ask suspiciously.

"Prepped so if and when she touches something we won't get hurt in the crossfire." Kendall explained.

"What are you suggesting?" I ask curiously. Logan looks at Kendall who looks at Carlos whose smiling brightly. Carlos then he runs off to his room and closes the door. I hear weird noises such as stuff crashing, stuff moving around like fabric. The noises seize and everything's quiet for a second until the door bursts open in a dramatic fashion and Carlos comes out wearing his hockey gear.

"Seriously, you think that'll help?" I ask. I don't think even that'll save them.

"It's the only means of protection we got. Now suit up." Carlos says as Logan and Kendall go to their shared room to get their gear.

"Wait, you expect me, _me_, to wear your hockey gear?" I ask surprised they think I'd even dare try or ever _think_ of wanting to wear it, in _any_ situation.

"Uh, yeah that was the plan." Kendall says coming out of his room decked out in his hockey gear.

"Well get a new one because I'm not wearing you smelly hockey gear." I state crossing my arms.

"Oh come on it's not sweaty, we washed it like what…last," Logan said pondering.

"Week?" I ask disgusted.

"No month." Carlos corrected me as I shudder internally and externally in disgust.

"Maybe two months ago." Kendall says now really pondering on the question.

"Yeah you're probably right." Logan agrees as they all nod.

"More reason NOT to wear it." I state.

"Do you wanna die today?" Kendall asks.

"NO but I'm not going to risk getting your athlete's whatever to protect myself from the wrath that is Jenny." I firmly say to them as I turn around.

"The more time we waste arguing, the more time Jenny has time to start another fire."

"Okay, Logan you go get Jenny and get her in here. Carlos, you set up a place for us to sit so we're far enough away to not get hurt. Amber, put on the gear." Kendall said as he approached holding the gear in front of me.

"No, I will not put on the stupid gear."

"Now don't go insulting our gear," Kendall said hugging his chest plate closely. "It's special and very sentimental, just put it on."

"No, I already told you I'm not doing it." I said crossing my arms.

"Put it on." He said stepping towards me.

"No." I say standing up to him.

"Do it!" Kendall ordered.

"I will not!" I counter.

"What's going on in here?" We hear a new cheerful, yet confused voice ask politely. We turn our attention towards Jenny and Logan who came back into the room standing next to each other as they and Carlos stared at us. we looked back at each other and we realized as we argued we kept stepping towards each other and we were awfully close. I back up quickly and look away.

"I was trying to get Amber to put on the gear." Kendall stated.

"But why would she need gear?" Jenny asked curiously.

"Uh…" Kendall elongated.

"Because…" I say drawing the attention onto me and not the dumbfounded Kendall. "They wanted me to play hockey with them, but I'm still refusing to play."

"But we need a tie breaker and we're an odd number." Kendall argues.

"I'm, not, playing." I say through gritted teeth with a fake plastered smile.

"Enough, are we forgetting about why we've invited sweet Jenny here to talk about?" Logan hissed. We sigh and sit down at the chairs Carlos nicely set up for us.

"So you guys wanted to talk to me about my dreams…?" Jenny asked as she sat on her side of the room excitedly. It's going to hurt so bad to see her upset after we have to break it to her that she can't live her dream.

"YES!" Logan cheers as he gets a text message from someone. We all look over at him weirdly, thinking he was excited over breaking the news to Jenny. "Gustavo needs me, I have to go. By Jenny!" Logan cheers happily. Logan springs up out of his chair and right before he runs off he hands Kendall the fire extinguisher and whispers "Good luck!" And then runs out the door.

"Jenny…sometimes dreams change, we wanted to be professional hockey players, and now we're singers." Kendall starts off.

"You wanted to be a singer, but maybe you should be one of those people who blow up buildings when they need to make new ones." Carlos suggests, as he gets very excited over the new idea.

"But guys, I'm a much better singer now!" Jenny says proudly. "I've been taking lessons, you wanna hear?"

"Uh…sure." Kendall stutters and looks to us for help but we don't know what to say either but he makes a decision and he agrees nicely.

"Just give us one second." Carlos says. Kendall and Carlos, to the best of their ability in hockey gear, quickly stack up the chairs with additional two chairs to make a boundary of some sort to duck under, pulling me down with them.

"Go ahead!" Carlos and Kendall say together as they duck under their new stack of chairs to protect themselves.

And then, from underneath our little barrier, I hear a voice I've never heard before. A voice that was so unique I had to see where it was coming from, it was almost beautiful but it had that edgy rock feel to it that it was more unique than beautiful, which in this world of Hollywood, that's the key ingredient. So the guys and I look at each other in astonishment and raise our heads slowly from above the barrier and we see Jenny Tinkler, Ms. Accident-prone, belting it out like a rock star.

"You're amazing!" Kendall hollers as we all stand up from our crouched positions in joy.

"Told you we'd make you a star!" Carlos says cheerfully.

"Yeah!" I cheer in agreement.

"Yes!" Jenny joins in and we all join for a huge group up and Jenny's bouncing around and so we start bouncing around but then we hear an ominous creak from below us, then another. Then we realized what was going to happen.

"Wait, wait, Jenny, JENNY!" We all start saying as we wanted to prevent what was coming but we couldn't as the floor started shaking and becoming very unsteady until finally it just caved in and we fell through the floor, actually two whole floors. We all land with a thud in the lobby, scaring everyone there as we landed splat on the floor. I start to feel excruciating pain in my right leg and I scream out. Everyone scrambles off of the ground to see where I am and they look at me worried and then at my leg and they grimace a bit. I'm guessing it looked bad.

"Whoa, what happened?" Jenny asks terrified.

"Amber…?" Carlos asks sounding worried about me. I couldn't even meet anyone's eyes because I knew I was crying because I was in so much pain, so I just kept my head down. I felt two strong and bulky arms; thanks to the hockey equipment the person who lifted me was wearing and gingerly lifted me off the ground bridal style.

"Come on…" Came the voice. I looked up and was staring with my watery eyes into Kendall's green eyes, "we have to get you to the hospital."

"But, what about Jenny…?" I whisper as I look over at her and see the stapler distracted her again and Carlos was trying to stop her from getting any closer to it.

"That doesn't matter, we have to make sure we get you some attention." Kendall said as he told Mr. Bitters to call an ambulance as he then proceeded to lay me on the couch. I had my body carefully placed on the cushions on the couch as Kendall carefully, although it did hurt a lot, I tried to keep that part hidden, placed a pillow under my leg to keep it propped. He then moved my shoulders and laid my head in his lap and rested his arms on the back of the couch.

"I'm so sorry this happened." He said after a moment when he looked down at me. I looked up at him and met his eyes.

"It's okay, no one could've expected this, maybe I should've listened to you about putting on some protective gear." I try lightening the mood and even try managing a laugh but that fails as it causes me pain.

"You think?" He said laughing halfheartedly.

"Okay, okay, no need to get a big head and go all 'I told you so' on me."

"Okay, you still have your wit, maybe you're not in too much pain after all." He says smiling at me, which I return. He then looks like he just thought of something and stops smiling and clears his throat. "A-Are you comfy?" He asked suddenly as he adjusted himself.

"Yeah, thanks Kendall." I said as I looked up at him and smiled.

"Sure thing, what a friends for?" He said giving a small smile. And from that one sentence I knew that my suspicions about him were now cleared up.

"I knew it, you do have a girlfriend don't you?" I ask knowingly.

"What? Wh-What are you talking about?" Kendall stutters out nervously.

"I mean the last time we saw each other you snuck in a quick kiss and then we said goodbye." I said quietly so that only he could hear. "And when I came to LA, I was wondering what was going to happen when I saw you again, and I was a little upset when you weren't immediately trying to flirt with me. So I've had my suspicions since I've come back that you either forgot what happened last summer or you had a girlfriend." I look at him and he's nodding his head and sighing.

"Yeah, I, have a girlfriend, but I definitely didn't forget what happened last summer. You definitely made that summer a memorable one."

"Thanks." I say as I sigh and look off to the side. "Gosh, that's a bummer, I mean I'm finally single and now you're taken, I'm a bit upset, but I'll move on…"

"Sorry to disappoint you," he says sympathetically. "Is this going to change anything between us?" He asks rather concerned.

"Nah, but I'm happy I know for certain now because now I know to not try and kiss you…or something like that."

"Haha, yeah, that wouldn't be the best thing to do." He said and we awkwardly laugh at the joke.

"So, what's her name, if you don't mind me asking." I ask suddenly.

"Her name's Jo, Jo Taylor."

"How do I know that name…?" I ponder.

"Well she's on New Town High, if you've ever watched that."

"Oh My God! I love New Town High, she's my favorite on the show, and she and Drake or whatever his real name is in real life are so cute. Aw that's so cute that you're dating, I can see that. Wait, I thought she and him were dating…" I trail off.

"No, she's dating me." He says immediately.

"_Defensive_, have you been asked that before?" I ask teasingly.

"Yes. And also I just don't like him."

"Well if he's anything like his character on the show I find that hard to believe." I sigh as I remember I had a mini crush on the character, finding him to be rather attractive and romantic with that bad boy feel to him that made him that much more desirable.

"Well he's definitely not like that." He said.

"Are you…worried?" I ask almost concerned but also in amusement.

"What, psht, no." He scuffs.

"Well it sure doesn't seem like you like them being co-stars."

"I, I trust her, it's just him I don't trust." He says the last part a bit lower.

"Ah…" I sigh as I go from looking at him to looking at the ceiling. It reminded me how Lukas always felt, he said he always trusted me, but he didn't trust other guys I hung out to keep their hands off of me, and that's when I told him to stop and we got into that dramatic fight and ended in a bang, or really a thud…

"The paramedics are here." Mr. Bitters says as he goes off somewhere I can't see from where I'm lying down but I hear his voice say to someone, or some people, "She's over here." Mr. Bitters says.

"Are you the one that got hurt?" One paramedic asked me.

"That's me." I sigh.

"Is it okay if we lift you and put you on a stretcher?" Another one asks.

"Alright, just be careful, it's my right leg." I warn, as I stare at the leg that was on the pillow.

"Are you family?" The other medic asks Kendall.

"Oh, no we're not related, I'm just a concerned friend." Kendall says. The medics nod and Kendall carefully gets up and places me back on the couch as two medics come over and carefully lift me up without touching my right leg and start carrying me over to a stretched next to the couch.

"Who are her parental guardians?" A third medic I could hear ask as I was strapped carefully into the stretcher.

"Amber's parents are back in Boston, and I don't know their number but she probably can tell you the number." Kendall says.

"So can we call you when it's time to discharge her from the hospital?"

"Yeah, uh, can I come to make sure she's okay?" Kendall asked hopefully.

"Sorry that's only for family, but we can call you when we're sure that we've done everything we can to help her."

"That's all I ask for. Let me grab a piece of paper." Kendall says as he goes over to the front desk and grabs a pen and paper to write down his information.

"Thank you, we'll call with updates." Says the medic.

"Thank you." Kendall says. He walks up to the stretcher before they could take me away. "You going to be okay without me?" He says half joking, half serious.

"I think I'll manage. But come down to the hospital later, okay?" I ask hopefully.

"I'll try." He says and we share a quick hug and we part and the paramedics drag me away and pack me into the back of an ambulance. And with that I was wheeled away from the Palm Woods and loaded into the back of an ambulance.

It was a twenty minute ride to the hospital, of course it's much farther than twenty minutes by car but since the ambulance had its sirens on, we got to break a couple of regulations regular people had to settle with. I was wheeled in the front hospital doors and I could see that people were trying to clear the path for the medics and me to get through. I was wheeled slowly into a room and was taken from the stretcher and placed onto an examination bed.

"The doctor will be with you in a little more than twenty minutes." One medic said as he walked away.

"And in the meantime just relax and we're going to hook you up to a machine." One nurse took over as she and two other women helped out and got wires connected to things I couldn't really comprehend at the moment.

"Okay." I said weakly. I mean of course I didn't have that much of a choice since they were preparing to do that before they even told me they were going to do that, but it was nice they were informing me on what was going on. So they hooked me up to a machine and put something on my hand that was a little painful but then I suddenly felt very sleepy and I was out like a light.

I woke up about two hours later with two doctor and some nurses standing around me and discussing something. I decided that I should let them know I was awake so I managed to moan a bit. One doctor looked down at me and said something I couldn't hear but as soon as he said it everyone was looking at me.

"Wh-What happened?" I asked in a raspy voice. Well at least that's how my morning voice sounded after I took a nap.

"We had to do a little operation on your leg. Everything went fine in the operation don't worry." Said the doctor as I guess he probably saw the horror that was in my eyes. He then goes over somewhere and comes back with a clear piece of paper that had my bones on it. "You broke your leg in two spots," the doctor said as he pointed to two cracked places on my skeleton leg. "And so we gave you a full leg brace that you'll have to wear for at least a month."

"A whole month?" I croak.

"Unfortunately yes. We're also going to put you on medication that you'll have to take three times a day so that you won't go through so much pain as your body wakes up from the anesthetics we gave you."

"Okay." I say quietly.

"Now you're allowed to leave whenever you're ready." The doctor said.

"Really? But I thought I'd have to stay overnight or something?" I ask confused. I mean I've never had to be in a hospital for this kind of reason thankfully but I've watched enough shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy to know what goes on in a hospital.

"Oh you did already." Came a nurse's voice.

"What?" I ask confused again.

"You were brought in yesterday and now it's ten o'clock in the morning." The doctor said checking his clock.

"Wow, and I thought I was only knocked out for a couple of hours." I said under my breath but I guess I was louder than I seemed since the doctor answered me.

"Nope. Now who can we call to escort you back to your home?"

"Uhm, you can call my friend Kendall. He can pick me up." I said.

"Right, I think he gave us his number yesterday. We'll go call it." The nurse said.

"Thank you." I sigh. The doctor and a nurse left the room shortly after I said that and I was left with my thoughts spinning around in my skull. I wonder what the guys are going to say when they see me like this? Did Kendall already told them about my accident? Only he, Carlos, and Jenny know.

"I'm sorry Ms. Riley but he didn't pick up." Came the nurse's voice that almost had me jump out of my bed.

"He didn't?" I asked surprised.

"No, it went straight to his voicemail. Can we call another number perhaps?" The nurse asked. I thought for a second. It's weird to hear that Kendall has his phone off, it's hardly ever off he says. I sigh and then I remember I know the number to their apartment. He'll probably pick up.

"I know his home number. Can I call it?" I asked.

"Sure, you up to it?" The doctor asked.

"Yep." I say as confidently as I could with my leg being held up by a hanger from the ceiling.

"Here you go." The doctor says handing me the phone. I nodded a thank you and they leave me along. I dial in the number I've come to dial a lot when I'm bored. It rings two times and someone picks up.

"Hello?" Came the voice from the other side of the phone.

"Hey Kendall it's me Amber." I said immediately thinking it was him.

"Hi Amber, and by the way it's Katie." She said.

"Oh hi Katie, wow you sound similar on the phone."

"Do we? Hm, remind me of that later." I hear her say mischievously. "What's up?"

"Well, long story short, I'm at the hospital and they said I could go home. So is Kendall around by any chance to pick me up or something?"

"You're at the hospital?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah…" I said as I scratched the back of my head.

"Wow, well actually Kendall and the rest of the guys are at the studio recording. Did you try his cell?" She asked.

"Yeah but it was off." I said.

"Oh, that's weird. Well," I hear Katie said but she stops talking suddenly. "Wait, my mom just came home, she can pick you up."

"Really? That'd be awesome, just ask her first kay?" I ask.

"Okay, give me a second." Katie says as I hear her place the phone down on the table and I hear parts of their conversation, Katie tells Momma Knight I'm in the hospital, she freaks out, Katie calms her down, and she agrees to pick me up.

"Okay, we'll be on our way." Katie said cheerfully.

"Thanks so much Katie, I owe you." I sigh in relief.

"No problem, can I ask what happened?" She asks curiously.

"I fell through the floor. Haven't you seen the big hole in the floor of your apartment?" I ask surprised, I mean it was a pretty big hole.

"Oh yeah, I was wondering what that was for. My mom and I knew better than to ask about it because we knew it'd be some wild tale. Wow, sorry about that, you know them, always getting into stupid situations." She said laughing.

"Yeah, it's now become the story of my life." I sigh as I laugh halfheartedly.

"Well welcome to the club." She said as if she was congratulating me.

"Didn't know there was a club." I stated rather than asked.

"Well it consists of me, my mom, and now you." She said.

"Well I'm just glad I'm not alone." I said laughing.

"Okay, my mom's rushing me to finish up talking, so we'll see you in a bit."

"Okay, bye Katie." I say.

"Bye." And the line goes dead and I place the phone down on the counter that was next to my bed. The doctor and nurse come in right on cue.

"So did you manage to find someone to pick you up?" The doctor asked.

"Yes I did." I sighed.

"Can I have their names so that I can tell the lady at the front desk to let them see you when they arrive?" The nursed asked.

"Sure, it's Mrs. Knight and Katie Knight." I said. I really should learn Mrs. Knight first name.

"Perfect, thank you and feel better." She said as she was heading for the door.

"I hope to." I say as I give a small wave and she waves back, excusing herself.

"Now you should start taking your pills now, since your anesthetics will start wearing off soon." The doctor says writing up a note and placing next to a bag on the table as another nurse brings over a glass of water. She then presses a button on a remote control and the bed moves so that I was now sitting up. She hands me the glass of water and opens up a package of medication and takes out two pills to place in my hand. I pop them in my mouth and take big gulps of water.

"They'll start working immediately. And you'll start to feel drowsy. So don't be shocked when you're woken up by the Knights." The doctor explained.

"Alright." I said with a yawn. Wow he wasn't kidding I'm already feeling my eyes feel droopy.

"Honey, wake up." I heard a kind but worried voice plead.

"Mmm…" I mumble. I was a little confused, when did my mom come to LA?

"Hey, can I sign your cast now?" I hear another voice, but it was much younger than the first voice.

"Ugh…Katie?" I ask as I struggle to open my eyes.

"Who else would it be? So can I sign it?" Katie asked again.

"Honey, don't rush her." I look over at the voice and it turned out it wasn't my mom, it was Mrs. Knight, I must've been hearing things.

"How long have I been out for?" I ask.

"The doctor said about two hours." Mrs. Knight explained.

"Wow time flies by on these pills." I sigh.

"That makes you sound like an addict." Katie stated.

"And how would you know that missy?" I ask quizzically.

"It's Hollywood, I've learned quick." She said casually.

"A little too quick for my liking." Mrs. Knight said shaking her head at Katie as she just shrugged it off. "How are you feeling Amber?"

"Uhm, a little weird actually, I'm not in pain so I guess that's a good sign."

"Well that's good, are you ready to head home?" She asks.

"Yeah, I don't like being cooped up in hospitals. They have that weird smell, you know?" I said.

"Totally get that." Katie says as she nods her head.

"Do you need help up?" Mrs. Knight asked.

"Okay…Thank you." I say as they carefully help me out of my sling and help me sit up and swing my broken leg over the bed very carefully. I then grab the crutches that were conveniently next to my bed and stood up cautiously. Thankfully I'm no rookie at using crutches, I've never broken my leg before but I've practiced on my friend's crutches back home more than I probably should've, but least to say I didn't look stupid using them as the three of us left the hospital. I said thanks to the doctor and the nurses as we left and they waved us off.

We piled into the car and Mrs. Knight helped me get into the front seat and I sighed as I leaned back in my seat and before I knew it I was out like a light.

"Amber…wake up Amber…we're back at the Palm Woods."

"God this medication is knocking me out faster than anything."

"That's what medication does, it kicks in quicker than you can even complain." Mrs. Knight said laughing at my confusion as I look around the parking lot to see we're actually at the Palm Woods.

"We should get her to her place before she falls asleep again." Katie said as she slipped out of the back seat. I sighed as I then got a rumble coming from my phone. I picked up my phone, which I put in the cup holder in the car and I looked at the screen. I had ten missed calls, thirteen unread text messages, and five voice mails. God I'm busier than I thought. I checked whom the calls were from and more than half of the calls and voice mails were from Gustavo. Probably complaining that we needed to work on more music or something.

I gave a listen to some of them and I was able to tell immediately he was getting more and more impatient with every new voicemail. Then I read some the texts and they were all from Carlos, Logan, or James; none from Kendall, which I thought was a bit strange.

"Hey, um, by any chance could you take me to Rocque Records? Apparently I'm needed there." I ask politely and almost had to put on the puppy eye look.

"You sure you're up to working right away? I mean you just came back from the hospital?" Mrs. Knight asked warily.

"I'm going there simply to tell them that I can't work today, and possibly not tomorrow." I state to calm her nerves.

"Okay, I can do that. Want me to wait afterwards?" She asked.

"Nah, I'll get one of the guys to drive me back." I say. I don't think I could ask her to do anymore for me without repaying her some how, she's done so much, and she has been so nice.

"Okay, Katie you head upstairs and finish up your homework." Mrs. Knight said. Katie looked like she was about to protest but Momma Knight gave her one of those looks that said there wasn't any time or room to argue.

"Ugh, fine. See you around Amber." Katie said pouting.

"Bye sport." I said messing up her hair as she moved away and flattened her hair as I laugh and she ends up laughing anyway. I wave my hand out the window and I can see through the rear view mirror her waving back.

"Thanks so much for doing this Mrs. Knight."

"It's my pleasure sweety. While you're out here in LA, think of me as your second mom, okay? You can always ask for my help." She said sweetly.

"Thank you." I say again.

"No problem. Now as soon as you say you can't work for a bit you come straight home okay?"

"Okay _mom_, wow you get right back to work don't you?"

"It's my job to." She said.

"And you do it well." And we share a laugh as she pulls up to the front of the studio. She opens her door and runs to my side of the car and helps me out. I stand up, with help from my crutches and thank her and give her a small hug in thanks as well. She hugs me back and she goes back to her seat, waves me off and drives off with me waving after her. I sigh as I look at the studio. This was going to take a while. But I sigh and make my way to where I knew where Gustavo and most likely the boys were going to be.

KENDALL'S POV:

"Well it looks like this story is wrapping up quite nicely." I said wiping my hands together in satisfaction. Our Jenny problem was now taken care of now that she was going to be on tour with that destructive British band.

"And I will never ever overpromise anything ever again; I promise." Carlos says and the guys and I just look at him warningly. He sees our expressions and backs off saying sorry.

"Gustavo?" Came a new voice off somewhere down the hall.

"Amber is that you? Where've you been all day?" Gustavo calls out.

"It's…a long story." Amber's voice said trailing.

"Well get over here and explain yourself." He hollers back at her.

"It'd be easier if you just came here and saw for yourself." We hear her say. I immediately start heading over to where the sound of her voice was coming from. I turned the corner and saw Amber, standing there in the middle of the room. Actually she wasn't standing, she was leaning on crutches, not putting weight on her right leg, the leg that was completely incased in a brace.

"Amber…" I say looking at her as my mind started to fill with guilty thoughts.

"I'm okay, it's really not as bad as it looks." She said looking down at her bandaged leg and back up at me, managing to smile.

"I know, it's worse." I say in a serious tone of voice as I go up to her. I was then going to hug her, wanting to comfort her in anyway, but then my eyes caught sight of her leg again and I back off slightly but I'm still standing rather close to her.

"Kendall…" I almost hear her whine.

"I feel so guilty, this shouldn't have happened to you." I whisper with my head down slightly.

"Kendall you can't blame yourself," Amber says to me but despite the kind words I don't move. Amber I guess got annoyed by that and grabs my chin and lifts it up so that I had no choice but look at her. "It was my fault for not putting the gear on like you told me to." She smiles weakly.

"But I should've pushed harder for you to wear them." I say trying to look away but she keeps a good grip on my chin so I can't.

"Hey, it's okay." She says lightly moving her hand to my cheek to playfully slap it and finally able to crack a little bit of what looked like a smirk on my lips.

"What in the world…?" I hear Kelly's voice from behind me.

"WHAT happened?" Came Gustavo's booming voice

"Well, as you can see, I broke my leg." She explained as she pointed to her leg.

"Yes, that's plain as day. But how?" Logan says shocked. I knew I was forgetting something, I hadn't told everyone else about the accident.

"I fell through the roof, or I fell through the floor really, I don't know." She said sounding confused. She looked so innocent and cute when she didn't know how to explain things. Okay, whoa, I'm happily with Jo, although I don't get to see her anymore…NO, okay no more thoughts like that.

"Amber, you poor thing." Kelly said as she went over to Amber and gave her a quick, but surprise, hug that got Amber put on guard but she accepted it anyway.

"What'd the doctor say?" Logan asked.

"Well, he said that I broke two parts of my legs, that I should take a bunch of medication he prescribed, and I won't be able to walk for two months."

"Two Months!" We all exclaim. Great, I didn't think my guilt could grow any more than it already did, but as always I've been proven otherwise.

"Yeah, and the doctor said for the next few days I shouldn't do anything but rest, so that mean I can't come to work and record for a little bit." Gustavo when Amber said that looked like he was going to blow a gasket. I was preparing for the yelling and the small earthquake that came with his temper tantrums but it never came. Instead he calmed himself down.

"Alright, three days, no more, no less. That should give you plenty of time to rest up and relax and then well enough to record some new stuff." He said calmly and I think I heard a hint of sympathy in his tone.

"Wow, um, thanks Gustavo. Wow that was easier than I thought…" Amber said under hear breath.

"We should probably take you home now. You need you rest." I said worried as I turned back to her to see she looked like she could collapse any second.

"No you don't!" Came Gustavo's voice. "I need you here to record more of your second album."

"But I need a ride home." She complained.

"Why don't one of us just take her and head back?" Carlos asked.

"Fine. But only one of you." Gustavo groaned.

"I shot taking care of Amber!" Came James' eager voice. I couldn't help but feel a bit shocked by his eagerness. He rushed over to Amber and surprisingly swept her off her feet and was holding her bridal style as she held onto his neck for dear life.

"Try to a bit more careful with her. She just broke her leg, she doesn't need to be heading back to the hospital." Logan said easily from across the room.

"Yeah moron…" I said under my breath I turned away.

"Alright, but be back ASAP. I need all of you for the song. Got it?"

"Sure, sure. Once I make sure she's okay I'll be back before you miss me."

"I never miss you, I'm the lone wolf. I just need all my dogs to work together like a good pack."

"Okay then…well bye!" He says as he rushes out of room with a yelping Amber, probably freaked out by being carried.

"Now dogs! Let's get to work!" He said as he came up behind me and started pushing me forward towards the recording booth, as my mind was flooded with thoughts that confused me.

AMBER'S POV:

So James unexpectedly lifted me off my feet and was rushing me out of Rocque Records and into his car, heading back to the Palm Woods.

"SO, was this just something to get out of working, or was there another reason why you so willingly volunteered?"

"Well there's that…" He said jokingly as we both laugh. "But also I feel bad that I didn't know what was up, and so to make up for that carelessness I'm going to help you out."

"Well thank you. But I thought for sure Kendall would've told you what had happened."

"Wait, Kendall knew this whole time…since yesterday, about this?" He said angered.

"Uh…yes?"

"Well that wasn't his job to keep it a secret."

"Maybe he just didn't want to worry you, and also he had to worry about taking care of Jenny and all while you…well I don't know what you were doing all day yesterday…"

"Actually you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"…Try me." I said.

"Well I met a fan who wanted to be just like me, so I admired his taste in role models and I, maybe gave him a few too many tips about being awesome, aka me."

"One of Gustavo's biggest rules of what NOT to do. that I can believe happened. What's so unbelievable?"

"Well, he hit me over with a frying pan and then trapped me in a dog cage with biscuits and pretended to be me but Katie, the awesome little sister I never had, rescued me, and now I love dog treats."

"You're right. That's unbelievable." I sigh in astonishment.

"Ask Katie, she knows all about it." He says as he pulls up to the Palm Woods parking lot and parks the car.

"Okay, I will, as soon as I take a nice nap. This mediation is messing me up, I keep falling asleep."

"That's what the medication is supposed to do right?"

"Well yeah but I didn't it would be so well and I thought it'd be a little less strong."

"That's what you get for falling out of a hole." He says and I look at him from the corner of my eye. "What? Too soon?"

"Just a bit." I sigh. He apologizes and gets out of the car and opens the door for me and gets the crutches from the back seat and helps me get on them.

"Thank you." I say to him.

"Anything to help." He says kindly. I smile at him and we slowly walk to the front door and we go to the elevator and go up a floor to my flat. We enter and I immediately head for the couch and relax.

"Do you want anything? Anything at all?"

"Um, I don't think so…" I said trailing off. Despite my indecisiveness James heads to the fridge and starts examining the contents of it to find something I'd like.

"Hey you like salmon right?"

"Yeah but that's too much work to make."

"Hey, I can do it."

"Do you even know how to cook?"

"Hey, it can't be that hard, I've watched the cooking channel before. I think I get the jist of what to do."

"You sure you can handle it?"

"Oh yeah, that'll be easy." He said as he starting taking out a frying pan, ready to get to cooking.

~Long story short, ten minutes passed and the fire department evacuated the first three floors, including the lobby because James let a washcloth catch fire, and well, the whole kitchen was destroyed. At least it didn't farther beyond the boundaries of the kitchen.

"So, good news, almost everything of yours survived the fire." Mr. Bitters said as he returned to James and I from taking to the fire fighters.

"That's good." James said positively.

"Well what's the bad news?" I ask.

"Well, you can't live in 1J anymore." Mr. Bitters said casually.

"What? Why?" I asked frantically.

"The fire department said it's deemed unsafe to live in until everything is fixed, and that costs a lot of money and it can't be fixed right away." He explained.

"Alright, how long before I can go back into the room? I mean I can probably bunk with someone for a few days." I asked calmly.

"It'll take two months." Mr. Bitters said.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked in disbelief.

"It'll take approximately two months to get the plumbing fixed, new cabinets, new floor and everything else burned in the kitchen." Mr. Bitters said.

"Well what am I supposed to do? I can't stay with someone for two whole months." I asked stressed out.

"You could always stay with us." James suggested.

"There's no room for another person in your place…you already have enough people in there as it is."

"Well…"

"Well what? That sounded almost hopeful."

"I could book you at another Palm Woods partner building, but it's an hour's drive from here."

"An _hour_?" I asked shocked. Okay, this could not be happening. "I can't live somewhere an hour away from the studio." I complained as I sighed in frustration.

"Well we don't have any openings here, all the rooms are booked. Unless some crazy coincidence like someone was leaving the Palm Woods today, I don't see what other option you have." Mr. Bitters broke down to me simply. I sighed in frustration, I felt like I could cry, but there were too many people around so I didn't dare do that. James just wrapped a comforting arm around me.

Then the silence in the room, besides the hushed conversations of other stressed guests, came the rummaging of luggage and people grunting as they were being pushed out of the way.

"Thanks Bitters for everything! But I finally got a real career, I'm heading to Milan for modeling! Dreams really do come true! So long Hollywood!" Said a tall and tanned girl as she threw her key card towards Bitters and took her luggage out the door and to a limo, with three other people lugging more and more bags.

"Well, wasn't that just something that we needed to happen…?" James said.

"That's right, that means there's an opening, I'll take their room."

"Well…" Mr. Bitters said. I then gave him the pleading look I've perfected over the years, and of course he couldn't' refuse that. "Ugh, fine, you're now in room 9K. For now." He said warningly.

"9K? I didn't even know the Palm Woods went that high up."

"We added it on a couple of years ago, the elevator doesn't even go that high. We had to build a whole other elevator system."

"Sounds fancy."

"You don't know the half of it…" Mr. Bitters said. "That's why you're only staying there temporarily."

"How fancy could it be…?" I asked warily. I mean the only room that was really something to show off was the guys' room but that was because they told me they had it done up awesome, I saw pictures of what it looked like before, and boy was it ugly.

"Let me show you to your room…" Mr. Bitters grumbled. I didn't understand why he was so grouchy about me moving into this room but whatever I now didn't have to worry about leaving the area and finding a way to get from the other hotel to the studio almost every day.

We went up the elevator to floor six, the last stop on the elevator, then we went down the hallway to a fancy golden doorway that opened up to a super fancy elevator that didn't look like it fit with the Palm Woods at all. James and I exchanged confused looks but ventured into the elevator after Mr. Bitters. The doors closed and Mr. Bitters slid the card into a slot and the elevator moved and we went up three floors to the ninth floor. The hallway was beautifully painted, like the Ritz.

We walked down the decorated hallway to a door that said 9K in cursive gold plating. The door was white, not like the mahogany of the doors on the other floors. He slid the key card into the door and the door opened smoothly to reveal, well, in simple terms, a heavenly paradise that you only see in movies.

The opposite wall was just covered in windows, not a wall in sight, everything was chrome, state of the art, and had a black and white theme, my favorite color combinations.

"This…this is the new edition?" James said breathlessly.

"Yes. This is what we added on two years ago for our special guests."

"I think I'm going to like it here." I said as I threw my bag down on the ground.

"Careful! This is imported carpet." Mr. Bitters hissed as he lifted my bag and dusted the carpet until it was spick and spam.

"I'm surprised the Palm Woods could have such a, beautiful room, such as this." James thought aloud as I was thinking the same thing.

"We've had an overflow of guests stay at the Palm Woods over the past seven years, everyone wants to be famous nowadays. Teenagers…simple minded." He muttered the last part.

"Right..."I said not really listening as I took in the sites.

"Now, you'll only be staying here temporarily, but if you break anything, it'll cost you more than three months rent on your old place." Mr. Bitters warned. I turned around and looked at him shocked but he wasn't kidding. He doesn't do that, I forgot for a second. I nodded, showing I understood. "Now, have a Palm Woods day." And without another word Mr. Bitters left.

"Amber…this place…it's…it's beautiful." James said as he sighed happily.

"Yeah, no kidding. It could almost compete with the big dog hotels."

"I'm visiting, every day, hope you don't mind." He said as he reclined on the nice white leather sofa.

"Okay…but when you're here, no feet on the coffee table. I'm not paying for anything here that's going to empty my wallet, and my parent's wallets combined."

"Fine…" He said understanding the circumstances.

"I'm really going to enjoy living here." I said as I sighed. I ventured further into the room, there was a whole other room just for the bedroom that was three times the size of my last bedroom. And then I saw there was a bathroom in the bedroom. Super fancy. And then I didn't even know the definition of fancy anymore when I answered the bathroom, it was the same size of a regular bedroom back in Boston.

"James…you gotta check this out…" I said breathlessly. I heard his running feet and in a second he was by my side, almost ready to fall over at the beauty of the marble bathroom.

"Whoa…" We both breathed.

"Yup, definitely coming over, every day, like I said." James said as he walked over to the wall, covered in mirrors as he admired what he saw.

"Okay." I said laughing at him.

"Now, how about that meal I promised you?"

"Uh, I think I'm in the mood for pizza, and not up for burning another place down."

"Fine…"

"And shouldn't you be getting back to the studio to record with the rest of the guys?"

"Oh God!" He said panicking. He rushed out of the room, grabbed the jacket he had on, put it on, slipped on his shoes, and then came back to the bathroom. He went up to the mirrors, slipped out his Lucky Comb and brushed his hair out.

"See you later Amber!" He said running out of the room kissing me on the lips quickly, something that had me standing there dumbfounded. Thank God I had my crutches or else I would've fallen over in shock and might've broken another bone. A small pause and James comes back into the room slowly as he realized what he just did.

"Uh…" He said stupidly. That was the only thing he could come up with?

"Well that was, unexpected." I said awkwardly.

"I am so, so sorry." He said super apologetically as he slowly came over towards me.

"Uh, it-it's okay. R-Really it's fine." I said not looking at him, since I didn't want him to see that my face matched the color of a tomato.

"Can we just, pretend that didn't happen?" He almost pleaded.

"Uh, I don't, I don't think we have to take it _that_ far, I don't think. It's fine." I stuttered out.

"We…don't?" He asked confused.

"No, it, it happened, no worries." I shrugged like it was no big deal, of course lying to him and myself.

"Oh, okay then." He said sounding a bit better. "SO...I'll see you later, I guess?"

"Yeah, sure thing. And bring the guys, they should see this place too."

"Okay, will do. Uh, bye Amber."

"Bye James." I said waving him off as he left the bedroom and I held my breath until I heard the front door close. I sighed when I knew the coast was clear. I limped over to my new plush king sized bed and fell back, kind of breathlessly as I tried to calm myself down and wipe away the clear blush off my face.

Things…just got interesting…Joy…

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><p>WOW WASN'T THAT FUN? what do you think about my lil twists and turns, interesting? got you on your toes for next time? i hope so! but so i know for sure, please review and tell me what you think :) BYE FOR NOW! almost midnight for me and i need a good rest to feel better and such...so BYE oh and reached over 12K this time! woohoo~<p> 


	10. Big Time Girlfriend

HEY YO! looky here, i posted again, the day after i posted the last chapter! what a treat right? i thought i'd post it since i got such a good response from you guys :) and because i love you all :) you really bring up my day by responding :)

anyway, this is based off of the episode Big Time Girlfriend and it's basically the same as the story line just more Amber! and what not :) hope it's good

i don't own the boys if i did they would think i'm weird writing this and thus i wouldn't be writing this, so be thankful i don't own them! and...

ENJOY!

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><p>It's been a month since I've broken my leg, still with a full leg cast on my leg. I was struggling a bit at first, for at least the first week or so, to go to work, sit in a recording booth and record and not fall over because I would lose balance or because of exhaustion. Another side effect to my medication, my whole sleeping pattern was off, I would be taking naps during the day, and then waking up almost hourly at night.<p>

It all kind of sucked, but thankfully after the first month I switched medication and now I'm back to sleeping normally. And also in a week, hopefully less if I'm lucky, I get to change my full leg cast to just a big boot and a cane, no more crutches. They really start to hurt your armpits after using them for such a long time.

But today, we were all back at the studio, and when I say we I mean the guys and I were recording new songs, but the guys opted to go first, and I didn't argue, since it was still early for me, at least nine thirty in the morning. So I sat with Kelly and Gustavo on the other side of the recording booth and watched them. And they sounded great.

"And right from the start, you had to break my heart," The guys sang together as I watched them from outside the booth.

"And now I can't find all the pieces. Yeah!" Carlos cuts in singing cheerfully totally not in tune with the song. Okay Carlos, totally ruining the song here!

"CUT! CUT! Carlos, this is a song about when a girl, destroys your heart," Carlos nods, getting the concept. "So then why are you singing so HAPPY?"

"Uh, because I'm happy?" He said trying to excuse himself.

"Carlos, just try to remember the first time a girl broke you heart." Kelly suggested.

"Uh for that to happen there'd have to a _first_ girlfriend." James teases.

"OOOH." Logan and Kendall coo.

"Ha, ha. DIE." Carlos pushes James to back wall. Carlos smirks and turns around satisfied but James comes up from behind and tackles him and then all four boys start going at it. Gustavo not being able to control the situation throws his hands up in the air and looks at the control panel and presses a button that states in capital letters "STOP FIGHT". A loud siren goes off in the recording room that gets all the guys to stop fighting and straight to covering their ears from the deafening noise.

"At least the 'STOP FIGHT' button works." Kelly said looking at the positive.

"I'll make some changes to the break up song and I'll record you all later, separately." The guys nod in agreement. "Until then…" Gustavo then presses another big red button that has "EJECT" written underneath it, and as it instructs, it ejects the boys from the recording booth, using the wall to press them out of the room and somewhere else unknown.

"The new 'EJECT' button works too." Kelly comments.

"Yup." Gustavo says as he pops the P, nodding in satisfaction.

"Okay, one, how did you even get the money to pay for that? And two, where did you even find that?" I ask warily.

"I'm a MILLIONAIRE!" He hollers at me that almost has me sent to the ground. "And, I know a guy."  
>"Okay…" I said trailing off as I looked away.<p>

"Now, you're turn to record. It's been a month since we've had any real song made." Gustavo orders, pointing to the recording booth.

"Right but then why aren't they on myJams yet?" I ask annoyed. I've been waiting for people back home to hear my stuff, many people, mainly my parents, have been pestering me about when they get to hear their 'baby girl' on the radio at least; their words, not mine.

"Because I want to make it an EP." He says.

"Isn't that when you just have one song but then there's multiple versions of it?" I ask confused.

"NO." He states loudly.

"An EP mainly consists of under five songs." Kelly explained further.  
>"Which we have, right?" I ask.<p>

"NO. We need one more…" Gustavo groans.

"Okay," I say as I think over all the songs that will be on the EP, then I realize there's one crucial one that's missing. "Wait a minute. Why don't we add Dreamer to the list?"

"Dreamer?" Gustavo and Kelly ask together.

"You know, the one you made into a CD that you gave out last year and now it's gone viral on Tube World?" I suggest. God did they not keep tabs on everything like I did, hmm, maybe it's better that way.

"It _has_?" Gustavo almost exclaims.

"Yeah, people really seem to connect to it." I say proudly.  
>"But you see…" Kelly said as she trailed off looking guilty.<br>"Let me guess, you didn't make a copy of the CD for yourself."

"Right." Gustavo answered bluntly.

"Why don't we just burn another disc?" I suggest.

"Because it's not that easy." Kelly stated.

"Yeah it is, we just take it right off of Tube World."

"Actually that's illegal." Gustavo says as a matter of fact.

"It is…?" I question. Wow, then I broke a law, at least three times…I'll just keep that to myself, just in case.

"So we either need to record it again with the guys and add the sound effects again, or we find the girl who posted it and get her to give us the CD." Gustavo states.

"Okay, so which one's easiest?" I ask, I was beyond ready to get my songs out there and was willing to try anything.

"Probably talking to the girl. I'll get in touch with her father and ask to borrow the CD." Kelly says.

"Alright, so, can I go? I haven't taken my medication yet for my leg, and that's kind of important." I ask nicely as I kept staring at my wristwatch.

"Shouldn't you have taken it before you got here?" Kelly asked worried.

"No, I'm on a stupid time schedule and I have to take it at 10, and it's 9:45 now and I don't want to not be on time. And also the medication then makes me super drowsy and that means I'm going to be sleeping." I groan at the last part, stupid side effects.

"Alright, you can go." Gustavo says.

"Want me to give you a ride back?" Kelly offers.

"Can you?" I ask nervously since I know she's got work to do.

"Sure." She insists.

"Thanks Kelly." I say.

"Hey, as long as you eventually do get better I'm glad to help, but afterwards, not so much." She states.

"Okay Kelly." I laugh.

"Gustavo, find out who the girl's father is and I'll ring them up later." Kelly says turning to Gustavo.

"Deal. Now go and get better, I need my superstar to be able to walk again." He says pointing at me and probably staring me down, but I couldn't tell behind his shades.

"Yes sir." I say as I roll my eyes and walk through the door, with help from Kelly.

We walked out to the parking lot and we got in her car and she drove me back to the Palm Woods. We got to the Palm Woods five minutes later and she let me out, which I managed to do all by myself; I've been practicing, and she waved me off. I limp to the elevator and go all the way up to the sixth floor. Then from there I walk down the hallway until I reach the golden elevator to get to my room. The elevator dings and I get out of the elevator and head to my room.

Once I close the door behind me, I limp to my fridge and make myself a microwavable lunch. I was starving, side effect of my new medication, I was going to gain a lot of weight, and I can't even work out! I sighed as I put in the soon-to-be hot meal. I recline on my nice white sofa and carefully lift my leg up so I could get comfy. I try turning on the TV but all I get is static.

No, this could NOT be happening, not today of all days, my favorite drama, Werewolf Journals was going to be on tonight, and I was finally going to find out who Emalia was going to chose. I MUST FIND OUT!

I picked up the landline and I dialed the front desk, needing to have a serious word with Mr. Bitters. I waited for a few moments and got the hint after the eighth ring he wasn't going to pick up any time soon; great service at the Palm Woods. The microwave dinged and my tummy did a victory dance at the juicy smells that were filling the room. I carefully brought my leg off the couch and picked up my crutches and made my way over to the microwave and opened it up and savored the smells that came out. My juicy fattening food was ready for me to devour at last!

I ate healthfully and enjoyed every bite I took out of it, problem was I was going to be yelling at myself for it later, but you only live one (YOLO). Once I was finished, I remembered I was still mad about the TV not working. So after I cleaned up after myself, as best as someone can with a broken leg can, meaning I threw everything into the dishwasher, I left my apartment and took the elevators to the lobby to have a firm word with Mr. Bitters.

Once I reached the lobby, I was surprised to find the front desk empty. There was a sign saying 'Personal Day Off'. Was he even allowed to do that? Gr. I guess so; he's the manager after all. The _one time _I actually need him to do his job he decided to take a break, typical. I sigh in aggravation as I lean against the desk and lower my head in shame.

"Hey, are you looking for Mr. Bitters?"

"Hm?" I said as I lifted my head up to be face to face with a girl I've come to know as Camille. She was a method actress, also the girl I knew as the one who slapped and/or kissed Logan constantly. She was good for a laugh, with and at, and she was super nice under all the costumes and characters she had on.

"Hey Camille, yeah I am looking for him, have you seen him?" I ask as I looked around.

"Yeah, I saw him heading to the park about ten minutes ago. Want me to drive you there?" She offered kindly.

"Could you possibly?" I said wearing my puppy dog begging face.

"Sure." She said laughing. "Are you sure you don't want to give up your singing gig and switch over to acting? We could use a good actor like you." Camille asked.

"Thanks but no thanks, maybe when I'm successful enough as a singer I'll try acting, but for now, it's only going to be about music." I say simply. I do love acting, but singing is my passion now and my main purpose for being out here in LA in the first place, one milestone at a time for me.

"Alright if you say so. You're loss. Maybe it's better this way, I need any job I can get." Camille sighed. "How's your leg by the way?"

"Eh, it's broken, nothing's really changed, but hopefully by the end of the week I'll have a boot instead of a full leg cast." I say hopefully.

"I'll pray for you." She said sympathetically.

"I'll need all the praying I can get, so thank you." I said kindly.

"You're welcome. Now hop in." Camille said as she opened the passenger door for me. I smoothly made my way into her car as she took my crutches from me and put them in the back seat. She went around the car to the driver's side. We buckled in and we were soon speeding off towards the park.

We arrived at the park within minutes, it's really not far away, but walking there with crutches is no walk in the park, ha, ha, park joke, how appropriate?

"Thanks again, Camille. Want to meet up for smoothies later?"

"I'm free after three?"

"Sounds good. What are you doing until then?"

"Going over a new script I got about a robot princess who gets kidnapped and is saved by a hot, beautiful haired, general as they rescue her kingdom from a time bomb who then fall in love at the end." She explains casually.

"Sounds cool, I wish you the best." She says.

"Thank you." She said in a robot voice as she did a mini robot dance. We both laugh and I wave her off as she drives away. I sigh as I look around the park. I walk along the path for a bit until I spot Katie. Maybe she's seen Mr. Bitters. Then I see he's sitting next to her, they were both staring at something intently. I follow the direction of which they're both looking at and see Kendall on the phone, looking disappointed while he sat on picnic blanket.

"Hey, what's with Kendall all sad about?" I ask walking over to the group, as I look from Kendall looking down at his phone, which he decided throwing onto the blanket and stare at it sadly once he was off the phone with whoever was on the other line.

"Jo canceled on him, again." Katie said nonchalantly.

"This week?" I ask curiously.

"No worse." Mr. Bitters almost exclaims.

"Just today." Katie said.

"Wow, that's harsh. Sorry champ." I say as I give Kendall a sympathetic look as he still has sadness written all over his face. "Oh wait, now I remember why I came out here! Bitters, why isn't the TV working?" I ask angrily.

"Cable's out 'til tomorrow. Deal with it."

"What?" I almost yell. "I have to watch the new episode of Werewolf Journals!" What am I supposed to do without my TV? I have a broken leg and can't do much, so staying in my apartment is my only option.

"Well why don't you join us." Katie offered.

"Okay, but what exactly are you guys doing?" I ask curiously.

"We've decided that watching real love life drama is more fun than just moping around about the cable being out." She said.

"Sounds intrusive, yet fascinating." I then think it over for a second but then give them my answer. "Why not?" I say as I sit down on a chair that was next to Katie.

"Thanks for the support." Kendall groans.

"No problem-o." I say saluting to him as he rolls his eyes. I laugh but then I smell something delicious in the air and look down at the yummy looking food that was decorating the picnic blanket. "Are you, um, going to let that food rot or are you going to eat it?"

"Right, because rejection causes him to lose his appetite and now his picnic will go to waste, unless…" Mr. Bitters says.

"Just sit down and eat!" Kendall says as he throws his hands up in the air. We all skedaddle to sit down on the picnic blanket, well I struggle to sit but I eventually get down on the ground next to Katie and we all take our sandwiches and eat them happily. "Is that Carlos…in slow motion?" we look over in the direction he was looking in and stare curiously as we saw Carlos, like Kendall said, running in slow motion. Where he was headed I don't know but soon he came in contact with another person running in slow motion and he picked her up and twirled her around as she hung on and laughed in delight.

"Is that what I think it is?" I ask curiously and almost excitedly.

"You mean that Carlos possibly found love? Then yes, that's exactly what it looks like." Kendall replies, almost as stunned as I felt.

"_This_ I gotta see." I say. "Can we dig into their story?"

"Yeah sure, Kendall's pretty much done for now, keep us posted when Jo calls back."

"Uh, _no_, no I won't. My love life is my love life, not something you can replace with television."

"Yeah, yeah." Katie said waving him off. She then goes over to Bitters and whispers, "keep us posted." She says as she slyly slipped him a walky-talky.

"Done." He said as Katie helped me up to my feet and got my crutches for me and we wandered off to where Carlos and mystery girl were headed.

"Hope things go better for you next time!" I holler over my back to Kendall while Katie and I continue to get further from him and Mr. Bitters.

The two of us, nicknaming ourselves the dynamic duo for the time being, ended up following Carlos and the girl, who we learned was Sasha, all over, which was hard for me at points but we managed once we stole a golf cart. And of course when I say steal I mean borrow; I would never encourage criminal activity, and it was for a good cause, exercising my limitations with my broken leg was not suggested by my doctor until I got used to wearing a boot, which I didn't have yet.

Anyway, Carlos and Sasha went to get corn dogs, they went on long walk in the park, got shirts that said "my girl" and "my guy" with the other's picture underneath it, cute and cheesy. Then headed back to the apartment to play some hockey, and they got really into it, so much that they had to go the dentist and got their smiles back to normal; meaning there weren't anymore missing teeth. And then they hug around the park again and they sat down the by the fountain.

"Wow, she seems to be perfect for Carlos." Katie said happily and quite shocked too.

"Yeah I know, a little too perfect maybe." I said suspiciously. I'm not going to lie, I loved seeing Carlos happy with a girl that seemed to be perfect for him, but no one can match up with someone so well and so quickly.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked confused.

"Carlos couldn't have found his soul mate so quickly, especially on the same day that he was writing a break up song and when James said he's never had a girlfriend before."

"You don't think…you don't think someone set this up do you?" She asked in shock at my bold statement, and I can't blame her, it was a far fetch idea but I've watched enough television and had enough experience to know when something doesn't look right in a relationship.

"I don't know what to think, all I know is that something doesn't smell right." I said I took out binoculars Katie and I picked to keep observing our newest couple as they splashed each other playfully in the fountain.

"If you're right, we have to investigate, that's an interesting plot twist, and it's just after lunch time." She said happily.

"Okay, so who would be willing to do something for the sake of music?" I ask as we both thought for a minute. As we pondered on the thought, we both came to same realization.

"Gustavo!" We both cheered but a bit too loudly. We stopped Carlos and Sasha mid fight and they started to look around. We ducked behind a bush to conceal ourselves and stayed for a second until I could hear a big splash. Probably meaning one of them flat out fell into the fountain. I sighed in relief as Katie wiped her forehead.

"Okay, so I think we should, before confronting Gustavo on the situation, see if the guys know anything about this." Katie said.

"Why would we do that? Shouldn't we get down to the good stuff first?" I ask confused why we don't get Gustavo's reasoning for this set up.

"Because, I want to know if this is more than a one person job, I mean the guys all seemed annoyed by the fact they couldn't get the song done today. Once they left the studio they came back to the room and they were arguing a bit, nothing too dramatic of course, over Carlos not having that kind of relationship to get the feel for the song."

"Interesting hypothesizing…" I said pondering. "Alright then, let's head back to the Palm Woods." I cheered as I stood up with my crutches. Katie joined me as we headed to our golf cart and we drove back to the Palm Woods. Obviously since my right leg is broken, Katie controlled the petal for me as I steered, since of course she can't legally drive being only ten going on eleven years old.

We walked into the lobby and were going to go straight up to the guys' room but we passed by a dumbfounded Mr. Bitters and we turned around curiously and headed back over to him.

"Hey, anything new on the Kendall and Jo front?" Katie asks Mr. Bitters who was leaning over his desk suspiciously.

"Forget that, wait until you hear what's going on with James and _Camille_." Mr. Bitters says tauntingly. He then begins to tell us a crazy tale he just overheard Camille and James talking about.

"No way!" I exclaim as I look at Mr. Bitters in disbelief.

"Get OUT!" Katie yells so loud I'm pretty sure they heard her in the next state over. "Come on! We can't miss out on this action!" Katie exclaims.

"Well what do you want us to do?" I ask as I turn to the mastermind that is Katie. So far she's the one who's been good with the sleuthing, she even got me my own tree hat.

"We need good seats, to watch all aspects of our teen love program." Katie said deviously.

"Well Kendall is by the poolside waiting for Jo and Camille and James went to the pool to confront Logan so…" Mr. Bitters said trailing off.

"To the tents!" Katie exclaimed.

"I'll get the popcorn!" Mr. Bitters says as he rushes to his office. We give the door a strange look as it closes behind him and then look at each other and shrug and go as quickly as I could to an open tent, awaiting for the show to keep going.

"Hey buddy! What's up?" James asks cheerfully as our attention was drawn immediately to James as he bravely approached Logan.

"Did you know that Venus is considered Earth's brother planet because of its similar size and shape?" Logan says as he reads from a book on Venus he must've picked up at the expo he mentioned earlier today. "Kind of like, galactic best buds." Logan says reclining a bit in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "Who never let each other down…" James then looks horrified at that thought as the guilt of what happened was swarming inside him. This was going to get good. From out of nowhere pops up Mr. Bitters with out popcorn bags and he asks,

"So what'd I miss?" Mr. Bitters asks in a loud whisper.

"SHHH! It's just getting good!" I almost yell but manage to keep my voice down.

"James is confronting Logan about the kiss." Katie informs him.

"Good I didn't miss it." He says relieved.

"Guys I'm serious!" I say.

"Someone's a little too into this…" Katie loudly whispers to Mr. Bitters as he snickers.

"…Don't judge me." I say as I accusingly point at them.

"SHHH!" They imitate me.

"Are you mocking me?" I say as I put my hands on my hips.

"What gave you _that _idea?" Katie said and I poke her side and she squeals loudly and it was really squeaky and frankly quite adorable but she didn't think so as I could tell from the corner of my eye she was glaring at me but I just sat there content with myself as tossed a piece of my popcorn into my mouth.

"Yeah, listen, there's something I got to tell you. Uh, something that I'm really, _really, _sorry about." James says.

"Dude, come on you can tell me anything. We're best friends." Logan pushes James to say calmly.

"Okay good, good, then here goes. I…" But James stops mid sentence as if he completely just shut down. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I…" Once again his whole body froze up. He was getting physically frustrated with himself. "I used your toothbrush!" He finally blurted out. Not exactly what needed to be said but something just as funny that got a similar reaction to what I had in mind.

"Gah! What?" Logan exclaims as he slams his palms on the table to stand up over James but James quickly rises. "Dude!"

"Look, I'm really sorry and I'm glad that I got that off my chest, phew, don't I feel better. Oh wow! Look at the time got to go!" And James speeds off like a bullet and off somewhere out the door. I wouldn't blame him I would do the same, well not now since my leg's broken but you know…

"Oh, look! Nine o'clock!" Mr. Bitters calls out and points to the door where Jo Taylor strolls in happily. Then opposite of her we see Kendall popping from his seat and walking towards her with pool noodles, a towel, and wearing swim trunks with a T-shirt.

They seem to be happy and joyful they finally get to spend time with each other but a beeping noise goes off, and from the look on Jo's face, since we couldn't see Kendall's anymore since his back was to us, it was coming from her phone. She pulls it out from her pocket and reads the screen and groans.

"Sorry…?" She says apologetically and she looked so guilty too. But from what we could see, it looked like Kendall has had enough because he drops everything from his hand and does a 180 and storms off to his lounge chair as Jo returns through the door she just entered. Mr. Bitters and Katie exchange nervous glances as they continue to devour their popcorn. I would've been doing the same if I didn't feel so guilty.

I know, shocking, as it may seem, I still have feelings for Kendall. I _know_ I told him I was going to move on, but I said that a month ago and it still hasn't happened yet. But seeing him looking so miserable, slouched over his legs in his lounge chair killed me. And I couldn't see him like that.

So…if he was really that happy being with Jo, then I was going to have to put my feelings aside and my personal bias and help Kendall be happy again. So I managed to get out of my chair without falling and got my crutches that were chilling next to me and I stumbled my way over to where Kendall was.

"Hey where are you going?" Mr. Bitters asked curiously.

"Yeah, you're going to miss out on the action." Katie complained.

"Keep me posted, I need to take care of something." I said as I looked over to Kendall and then back to them. Katie nodded understanding my intentions.

"Alright. But you're going to be missing out." Mr. Bitters said as Katie handed me a walky-talky.

"Keep in touch if you need backup, or if _we _miss out on something." Katie said.

"I will…" I sighed but I kept heading over to Kendall. He didn't even seem to notice me slouching over him as he had his head in his hands.

"Hey." I state bluntly as he looks up and he looks sad but tries covering it up with a confused expression, probably wondering why I was here. "Can you take me to the hospital, it's been a month and they said I should go and see the doctor to know if I'm ready to move from my brace to a boot and cane." Not until the end of the week I know, but I knew Kendall needed time away from the Palm Woods, and maybe this could get his mind off his troubled relationship.

"Sure, because now I have all the time to do just that." He says miserably.

"Great." I say cheerfully, ignoring his sarcastic and cynical tone and pulling him up as best as I could and leading the way out of the Palm Woods, then he led the way to where he parked the car and helped me get into the back of his car as he closed the door behind me and got into the driver's seat and we were on the road, cruising down the highway to the hospital. Okay, so it took the ambulance twenty minutes to get to the hospital when I was in it on the day my leg go broken, and since we're not apart of any medical department, it's going to take longer. Meaning I can commence with operation Positive Nelly, to cheer Kendall up…I hope.

"Thanks for taking me to the hospital Kendall." I said kindly. I was in the back seat, he has a slim car and I knew for a fact I wouldn't be able to fit into the front of his car. He looked at the rear view mirror at me and said,

"No problem, it's nice to think you won't have to be half robot for much longer." He said, and he added a joke in his comment, I guess I was right; being away from the Palm Woods was going to be good for him.

"Do I seriously look like a robot?" I ask.

"Not entirely, but at least partially mechanic." He said.

"That doesn't sound much better." I said laughing, which got him to chuckle too. "But I have to agree with you, being restricted like this kind of sucks."

"Trust me I know, I remember in middle school I fractured my ankle during a hockey match and I was benched for three weeks and I felt so useless it almost killed me."

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?" I asked sarcastically.

"No, but the fact when you're all better and you're able to do what you love again with no restriction, that's what should cheer you up."

"Huh, never thought of it like that."

"Most people don't, and it's hard to think about in the state you're in now, but it gets better." He reassured me.

"I hope you're right." I said as I looked out the window.

"I know I'm right." He said looking at me through the mirror again, I looked at him and I could tell he was smiling, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay Mr. Confident." I said and we both laugh. "Okay, now that you helped me, it's time for me to help you."

"Help me? With what?" Kendall asked perplexed.

"You're inner demon." I said seriously.

"My what?" He said laughing and I had to crack a small smile.

"I'm kidding, no, but I'm going to help you with your relationship."

"Ah, I knew there was a reason why you asked me out of everyone to drive you to the hospital." He said in an all-knowing tone.

"And you were the closest one." I stated, which was true.

"Logan was there too. Why didn't you ask him?" He pushed.

"Because there's some drama he's going to have to find out about and he needs to hear it first hand and not from someone else later." I said simply.

"Okay…" Kendall said confused.

"Don't worry it'll all make sense, eventually…" I said as I didn't even know if it would or not. "Now no changing the subject, this is about you. We have time to kill, since we've only been on the road for ten minutes or so." I stated crossing my arms in victory.

"Fine…what special outer world knowledge do you have for me on my situation?" He asks sarcastically. But I could tell by looking at him through the mirror he was really was distressed about his unique situation.

"

"But what's worse, seeing Jo for one minute at a time, or never seeing her at all?" I asked him firmly. He looked back at me, since we were at a red light and looked at me with those green eyes of his. They were filled with set feelings he already felt, but then I saw that façade give way and he relaxed and looked back at me and said,

"You're right…" He sighed. And, ha!

"Damn straight I'm right." I said crossing my arms. He looked at me weirdly since I don't curse that often, so hearing the smallest curse such as damn was kind of a surprise.

"I really like Jo, we've dated for a while now, and I don't want to give up on what we got and what we could keep having."

"Exactly, so if you keep letting this bother you, there won't be a future you and her."

"But it's so frustrating." He sighs frustrated with himself.

"Who said any of this celebrity dating stuff was going to be easy? There's no survivor's guide to it." I said complaining, hey I could've really used it.

"You got a point there." He said turning around as the light changed from red to green and we kept driving to the hospital.

"I know I do. And don't you think Jo is probably feeling the same way?" I said as I looked at him, he looked up almost shocked at my question. "Have you once thought that Jo doesn't want this to happen either? She's _crazy_ about you, I can tell, I'm keen at seeing how people feel in relationships, too much TV my mom tells me."

"I didn't take that into consideration." He said quietly after a long moment but loud enough for me to hear.

"What that I watch too much TV?" I ask confused.

"No, that Jo is probably just as frustrated, but she wants this to work just as much as I do." He stated, he already was looking better.

"And doesn't that seem like your relationship means more than it looks, sure you're not seeing each other as much anymore, but that doesn't take away the way you feel for one another." I said.

"You're right." He said as he was turning into the hospitals' parking lot. "You're absolutely right. No matter how long I don't see her for, I'm still thinking about her. And that won't change with time." He concluded after he found a parking spot and put the car in park.

"Atta boy!" I cheer happily.

"And just in time to see how your leg's doing." He said turning around and undoing his seatbelt.

"Right…I really hope I can get that boot." I sighed to myself.

"Didn't the doctor say you could by this week?" He asked.

"Yeah but more towards the end of the week…" I said laughing awkwardly.

"SO we didn't actually need to come here?" He inquired.

"Well…" I said trailing off as he let me out of the car. "No. _But_ I want that boot more than anything now, if I have that boot, I'll at least won't need my crutches anymore and I'll be able to walk around better, and probably faster, even if I have to lug around a cane with me."

"Wow, I've never seen you so determined before." He said shocked by how motivated I was.

"Well I've never broken a bone before, and so I don't like having to constantly need crutches to help me get everywhere. _And_ I've had a lot of time to think about this since I've been lying around all the time doing absolutely nothing."

"Well I can't blame you, breaking bones sucks." He agreed.

"Come on, let's get in there already and get this thing off of me!"

"Good attitude." He said as he passed me my crutches and we walked slowly to the hospital front doors. They slid open and Kendall and I went up to the front desk.

"How may I help you?" She said not looking up at us.

"Hi Helen." I said cheerfully. She looks up at the sound of her name and sees me smiling pleasantly.

"Hello Amber, you want to see Dr. Barrymore I'm presuming?" Helen asked.

"You presumed correctly." I said as we both laughed a bit. "I want to see if my leg's healed enough to get that boot." I said happily.

"Well aren't you excited?" She said laughing at my behavior. "Well alright, I'll page him and see if he's busy, for now you and your friend can wait over there." She said pointing to the waiting room.

"Thanks Helen." I said cheerfully again.

"No problem sweety." She said waving me bye as we walked over to the waiting room.

"And before you say anything, yes, I've gotten to know the nurses here on a first name basis thanks to coming here so often." I stated as I put my crutches next to my chair as I relaxed into the stiff chair.

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Maybe not, but I could tell you were thinking it." I said pointing at him all knowingly.

"Maybe I was, and maybe I wasn't." He said mysteriously as I just laughed. So in the meantime we just kept up a nice chat, talking about things that didn't make sense and things that any two good friends would talk about. It was fun and we're laughing until a voice came over and said,

"Ms. Riordan?" WE looked up and saw a nurse come up to us holding a clipboard.

"That's me." I said, wow, I haven't heard my real last name in a while, everyone's been calling me Amber Riley, it was a pleasant surprise.

"Dr. Barrymore will see you now."

"Thank you." I said. I got up and Kendall handed me my crutches, I thanked him and took them and we followed the nurse to a room to wait for Dr. Barrymore to finish up with another patient.

"Sorry I kept you waiting." Dr. Barrymore came in quickly as he threw off some latex gloves into the garbage. "Bad case of chicken pox in room seven. Worst case I've ever seen."

"Okay, thanks Doc." I said not wanting to know anymore than that. Chicken pox is a very horrible sickness to get, and it's just plain ugly. I had them when I was eleven and it sucked. "So, I'm guessing you know why I'm here right?"

"I knew you'd be in sooner than I recommended to have that brace removed from your leg."

"You know me awfully well Dr. Barrymore." I said chuckling.

"That I do. And who's your friend?"

"This is Kendall."

"Ah, the nice boy you said helped you before the ambulance came. Nice to meet you boy, if you ever are looking for a job in the medical department, ring me up and I can get you a position."

"Thanks, but no thanks, I'm in a band."

"Ah, you kids these days, all wanting to be singers…" He said.

"You've talked about me before?" Kendall asked in a cocky tone.

"I just mentioned you once." I hissed back to him, wanting him to knock it off before anymore teasing could be brought about from this.

"Now, let's take a good look at it…" he said as he went over to where I was reclined in my chair as Kendall just watched curiously as the doctor began to undo the brace he had surrounding my leg. I couldn't even look at my leg, which I haven't seen in a month. It was gross, a weird yellow-pale color that just screamed disgusting and it probably had permanent markings of the brace imprinted on the skin.

"Okay, I'm going to move your leg around a bit, so be warned if you feel some pain, and tell me where it hurts."

"Okay." I said softly as I prep myself for the pain by closing my eyes tightly and gripping the handlebars of the seat. I feel a warm hand cover my right hand and my eyes open suddenly and I see the hand and follow it up to Kendall's face.

"I'm here, you can hold my hand. And you can squeeze as hard as you need to if it hurts, Okay?"

"O-Okay." I said as I take his hand and squeeze it a bit. He smiles gingerly at me and squeezes my hand. I was going to say thank you but then I felt something really painful and I closed my eyes and squeezed Kendall's hand.

"Yeah, that hurt." I managed to say through gritted teeth.

"Sorry…but I had a feeling it was going to be sensitive there. Now I'm going to continue, is that okay?" Dr. Barrymore asked me kindly.

"Sure, just as long as you don't touch my leg there, _ever_ again." I hissed.

"Alright." He said calmly; totally not afraid by my tone of voice.

"Are you okay Kendall?" I asked him warily.

"Don't worry you didn't squeeze too hard. More importantly are you okay?" He asked me, he really looked worried. I probably looked like I was really terrified and suffering I guess.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said taking a deep breath.

"Okay, I checked your whole leg. And I think…" He said trailing off as he went over to the table and grabbed my x-rays. "I think you're ready for that boot." He said looking from the x-ray to my actual leg.

"Really?" I said cheerfully I was almost brought to tears.

"Yeah, I was moving your upper leg around and you didn't seemed bothered by it, and you did manage to crack your bone there, but if that's healed up like I think it is, then it's just your bottom leg that need to have something protecting it."

"Alright, let's get that boot on then." I said excitedly.

"Way to go Amber." Kendall said as he got up and gave me a hug, which I wasn't expecting but I took anyway.

"Now, let's go to the other room and get you fitted for that boot shall we?" The doctor said in a good tone of voice.

"Alright, lead the way Barrymore." I said happily grabbing my crutches and hopping down from the chair and followed him out with Kendall behind me for support.

The whole process of measuring the width and length of my bottom leg and then my foot size and piecing everything together, plus getting me new medication and a cane, and _then_ to top it off teach me how to walk with the cane and not put too much pressure on my right leg, was about two hours. But after it was done, I was able to leave the hospital with Kendall in toe feeling like a brand new me.

"Wow, I didn't think I'd feel this happy."

"Why? You were almost bouncing up and down in your seat at the hospital talking about the boot."

"I know, but still, I didn't think I'd feel _this_ different, I feel almost like I could do anything."

"Okay let's not try anything crazy, we don't need you back in that leg brace, alright?"

"Poo, you ruined my fun." I whined.

"That's what I do, I bring the poo." He said casually.

"That sounds disgusting." I said laughing at him but giving him a gross face.

"Yeah, lets not mention that again." He suggested.

"Agreed." I said as we both laughed and piled back into his car, this time I could sit in the front. We talked and laughed and jammed to music all the way home, apparently we both like the same type of rock music, who would've guessed that?

Finally after a half hour we pulled up to the Palm Woods, it was much quicker getting home than to the hospital I realized. You think I would've noticed sooner I guess time just flies when you're enjoying a conversation. We got out of his car and I limped as he walked beside me through the front door of the Palm Woods and we saw Katie waiting around the lobby on the couch, looking out I guess for signs of more drama.

"Hey!" She said as she noticed us walking towards her. "You got your boot after all!" She said as she came up to me and gave me a hug. "Congratulations."

"Thanks squirt, I'm super glad I went and didn't wait until Friday."

"And how's my big brother feeling?"

"Better, but still not entirely happy with the way things are going, but Amber here, he said wrapping an arm around me, giving me a small side hug, "really helped me through it. Thanks again, by the way." He whispered.

"Eh, it was the least I can do." I said as I returned the side hug. "Now let's sit and discuss what I missed while we were gone." I said as the three of us all decided to sit down. And we were going to discuss notes until someone walked into the hotel that got our attention, well mainly Kendall's attention, as Jo comes strolling over here.

"Okay, I've wrapped for the day, and I'm totally free…now how bout that date?" Jo asks hopefully. I could see the annoyance grow in Kendall's face as he gets up and turns to Jo, hope he doesn't blow up.

"You blew me off at the pool, then at the park, and then _again_ at the pool." Kendall said accusingly.

"And I'm _sorry_. I mean I love that my career is taking off, I just hate how it's making thing so…" She said and then a phone goes off, once again.

"Unbelievable!" Kendall said throwing his arms up in the air.

"Uh, that was your phone." Jo points out.

"I have to go to the studio." Kendall reads off the screen as Jo crosses her arms. "Well my one to your three!" They both groan in annoyance and Kendall goes marching off out of the Palm Woods and to his car, as Jo stands there sad.

"Well…I did not see that coming…" I said to myself as I sighed into my seat.

"What'd I miss?" Mr. Bitters comes over with a new bag of popcorn.

"Now, Kendall blew her off." Katie said as she continued to gossip.

"Ooh, nice twist." Mr. Bitters says in satisfaction. "Pass me a soda."

"Popcorn me!" Katie says and they each switch for their desired item and enjoy it.

"Wait, we have to go check on what's happening with Logan and James. Who knows what they've done to each other since we've last seen them!" I exclaim, now totally back into the relationship stalking zone.

"I think I saw James head upstairs, probably to the apartment!" Katie said.

"Good! Let's go before I miss anything else juicy!" Mr. Bitters complains.

"Come on you bootlegger!" Katie yells at me.

"That's not really funny, that means I carry around alcohol with me, and that I make it and sell it illegally." I stated firmly.

"But in context you know what I mean." Katie said smiling.

"Yeah but now people are staring at me like I'm some sort of criminal." I whisper loudly.

"Yeah you look real threatening with that cane." Katie jokes.

"It's real balsa wood, it can and will hurt you." I say as I lift it up threateningly.

"Come on you wouldn't hit a girl would you?" Katie asks.

"Well I'm a girl…so, yeah, I would." I say. She almost looks scared but pulls out another card.

"But younger than you?" She questions already knowing my answer.

"I…Gr, darn you!" I almost curse in frustration.

"Ha, ha! And she escapes without a scratch." Katie cheered victoriously.

"Yeah not for long…" I say scowling at her. She just smiles innocently and goes off towards the elevator where Mr. Bitters was waiting for the two of us. I make it in time as the elevator arrives and we pile in and wait impatiently as it slowly climbs up to the next level. It finally opens after a whole minute passes and we scurry quickly through apartment 2J's door as we see Logan and James standing face to face, only a table between them.

"Hi. Sorry to interrupt. Big fans." Mr. Bitters said awkwardly as we all grabbed chairs to sit in.

"But we were thinking that the storyline might benefit with more action." Katie suggested as Mr. Bitters nodded his head quickly in agreement.

"Like, say…a duel." Mr. Bitters said as he punched the air. I don't know when the two of them discussed this but I had to agree. Too much mushy gushy stuff was going on and I needed something new before I go and take my medication and pass out, again.

"I like that." Logan said waving his finger at Mr. Bitters as he smiled mischievously. "Braun swords at dawn!" Logan says enthusiastically as he slams his palm on the table and brings it up again pointing to the ceiling.

"Isn't dawn _really _early." James mentions with extra emphasis on really.

"Braun swords at eleven!" Logan says again as he does the same action as before and James mimics.

"Eh sorry, uh, no blood. Palm Woods rule." Mr. Bitters points out. Well isn't that nice. Stupid Palm Woods ruining all the fun.

"Then, what do we duel with?" James and Logan ask in unison.

"Don't worry, we'll deal with that when the time comes. Now if my clock is right, something should be happening with the other couples." Katie says looking behind her at the clock on the wall.

"So, if you would excuse us." Mr. Bitters says as we all skedaddle out of the room and out the door. But before I leave the room I turn around quickly and say,

"Oh! And don't do anything too dramatic while we're gone, or at least tell us before you do anything." I give them two thumbs up and before they could respond I scurry down the hallway and to where Mr. Bitters and Katie were waiting for the elevator. We wait a few moments and then the ding sounds and the doors slide open and we pile in.

We get down to the lobby and Katie and I find a good place to sit and await for what's to happen with either Carlos and Sasha or Kendall and Jo if he's done with recording while Mr. Bitters runs to his office to get us something to munch on.

We hear the elevator ring again and we see Jo, all dolled up and as pretty as ever, walk through the lobby. Coincidentally at the same time Kendall waltzes into the lobby through the front door and he sees Jo, distracted by the hem of her shirt, and walks up to her. When she looks up she's stunned to see Kendall.

"Uh…Y-You're back?" She sputters.

"Yup. Gustavo didn't need me, Carlos' new girlfriend scares me, and now we can…what's with the glamour?" He asks annoyed as he looks down at how nicely dressed Jo is in her nice pink tank top and jeans with matching purse. As this happens, Mr. Bitter crawls out of his office holding a bag of Twizzlers and passes it to Katie who picks out a red chewy stick and then hands the bag to me so I can do the same. We sit the bag down and we continue to watch the scene.

"Well you said you had to go to Rocque Record so I told my agent she could book another interview." Jo says defensively as she points to something behind Kendall and we look to our side to see what Katie and I suspected was Jo's driver who held a sign with her name on it, waiting for her to come along.

"We can't keep doing this." Kendall sighs.

"But I have to focus on my show, and you have to focus on your music."

"And it's only going to get worse…" Kendall says sadly as there's a honk that breaks up the sadness and we turn to see Jo's driver with a horn as he turns the sign around and it reads "I'm Waiting". Jo and Kendall turn to each other, give their other sympathetic looks, and finally Jo walks past Kendall and to her driver as Mr. Bitters, Katie and I chew on our Twizzlers sadly.

"Whoa, whoa, what happens next?" Katie asks stunned at the scene.

"The troubled couple realized that having no time for a relationship means that there is no relationship and I guess, end it." Kendall says sadly.

"Did you really think this was going to be easy big brother?" Katie asks as she gets up and walks over to Kendall. "Jo's going to be a TV star, and you're going to be a pop star, and you're both really busy. But what's worse, seeing Jo for one minute at a time, or never seeing her at all?"

"Did you ask her to say that?" Kendall asks eyeballing me suspiciously.

"Nope, she's just smart and picks up on these things like I do. But you know you should listen to her." I say as I stand up and back up Katie.

"That's fifty-nine seconds longer than any of my dates." Mr. Bitters says sadly from behind us.

"You know baby sister, you are right again." Kendall says as he goes over to Katie, takes her head, and kisses her on her forehead.

"So, what are you do now Romeo?" I ask him jokingly as I nudge him.

"Make the minutes count." He says happily. Finally he's smiling again.

"Good. It's about time too." I say. We both smile at each other and he was going to go in for a hug, while I was going to fist bump him. Realizing our mistakes we try again but fail as he was going to conform to what I was in mind and I was conforming for giving him a hug. We laugh awkwardly and I quickly just hug him and he takes a second but returns it. We separate and I pat him on the back as he walks off to God knows where.

"What do you want me to bring to the duel?" Mr. Bitters asks intently.

"Surprise me." Katie sighs.

"Alright." Mr. Bitters says as he shrugs. "Any ideas Miss Riley?"

"Nope, just do what you think will be the most entertaining." I say as I sit back down.

"I'll get right on that." He says and he leaves.

"You okay?" Katie asked me as he rests a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, surprisingly I am." I say but then realizing what Katie really meant by that. "Wait, wh-what are you talking about? W-Why wouldn't I be alright?"

"Do I even have to say anything…?" Katie states. I shake my head no. "You wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to say, at least I don't think. I've realized that from all this, I don't want any drama, meaning I can't deal with putting up with a relationship until I know for certain that I have a chance out here as a singer." I decide.

"I think that's the smartest decision anyone today has made." She compliments.

"You think so?" I say modestly.

"Not really, but if it helps you feel better and more confident then yes." She says shrugging and giving me a smirk.

"Oh you." I say as I give her a pathetic headlock, which she easily escapes as she cleans up her hair.

We met up at the park later the next day, just as our clocks were about to strike eleven am. The park had an intense atmosphere as Logan and James came from opposite sides of the park wearing old western styled outfits to fit the role of the duel. Mr. Bitters, Katie and I were sitting in chairs, anticipating what was about to unfold. When the boys stepped onto the scene, everyone around us went into a panic and started pushing chairs and tables over to protect themselves as the hotdog guy and his trolley scurried away to get as far away from the park as possible.

"It didn't have to end like this." James says from across the grassy playfield from Logan as they stared intently at each other from under the rims of their stylish cowboy hats.

"Didn't it?" Logan retaliates. James and Logan then have a small stare down until Logan declares, "Draw!" And they unsheathe their plastic weapons. Mr. Bitters went with the smart choice of using spit wads as the weapon of choice for the duel.

"Whoa! The 3D on this is amazing!" Katie says next to me as she's getting really into the duel. I adjust the 3D glasses that were resting on my head as I nod my head.

"I'm glad you suggested bringing the glasses along Katie." I said as we fist bumped in agreement.

"It's like the spitballs are coming right at you." Mr. Bitters agrees. And I guess the devil saw that as an open opportunity to have a spitball come sailing towards Mr. Bitters and nailing him in the face as he shudders in disgust.

"I can't hurt you." James says from his uncomfortable spot on the ground. "You're my friend." He says coughing.

"Same here…plus I don't, I don't have any, spit left." Logan says as he's struggling to keep talking from having such a dry tongue as James too points to his dried up tongue. The two of them eventually collapse to the ground. Knowing the battle was over with; we all take our 3D glasses off and watch the ending of the show.

"We cool?" James asks hopefully as he lies on his back and stares up at the sky above.

"Yeah, we're cool." Logan says and they grab each other's hands and it seals their friendship, the friendship that never truly was gone.

"So in the end, friendship prevails." Katie says concluding the story. "But Logan still has to confront his relationship with Camille." She points out.

"Hm, could you do it after three? I have some paper work to do." Mr. Bitters calls out to the boys on the ground.

"Yeah and I have to take my meds, meaning I need to find a bed to collapse on, no wait, I need to find a sandwich to munch on." I sigh. They both give me quizzical looks but I just stand up with my cane and head back to the hotel.

"Hey! You got your brace off!" Logan points out happily.

"Nice boot! I wish you got a cast though, I wanted to sign it." James pouts from his position on the ground.

"You can sign my ace bandage later if you want?" I suggest.

"Sweet!" James cheers and I smile at his silly behavior.

"Katie, want to go and grab some hot dogs? On me?" I ask.

"You know those are my favorite words." Katie says as she gets up out of her seat and puts down her 3D glasses as I do the same.

"Which ones? Hot dogs?" I ask perplexed.

"No, 'on you'." She says as I nudge her side and we both laugh and talk as we go to the vender pushing a hotdog cart. I order one with mayo, mustard, and ketchup and Katie goes classic ketchup.

"You know what? I'm happy I've gotten to know you better." I said after I paid the vendor and we walked back to the Palm Woods.

"Really? You're okay with hanging around with someone almost nine years younger than you?" She asks confused.

"Of course I am." I said wrapping an arm around her shoulders, hugging her to my side. "You remind me of my sister, but also of my brother because he's around your age, and you're just as big a smart-aleck as he is. And you definitely don't act like you're ten."

"Going on eleven." She said proudly.

"And you'll always remind me of that until you say you're going on twelve won't you?" I ask all knowingly.

"How'd you guess?" She said laughing.

"That's how my brother Dillon acts." I say as I take out my wallet and look at a little picture of him, Jordyn and I.

"He should come up more often, I never even met him, and we could devise plans and schemes together." She said looking at my wallet, but I snatch it away because I thought she was going to take money from me, but she throws her hands up in defense and I show her the picture.

"More the reason why you should never meet, you'll be too overwhelming to stop." I said slipping it back into my wallet and in my back pocket.

"I like the sound of that." She said deviously.

"How about we forget I ever said anything?" I plead.

"Nope. Not going to happen." She said refusing as she crossed her arms in dominance, although she was half my size.

"Oh come on! Let me win, just once." I said pleading with my puppy dog eyes.

"Fine…" She says. "I surrender."

"Now _that's _music to my ears." I said wrapping an arm around her shoulders again. Little did I know she had her fingers crossed behind her back…typical Katie move, yes?

We wasted two more hours before we realized that we had to see the talk between Logan and Camille. So we met up with Mr. Bitters by his desk and all went up to the guys' room and hid behind a wall as we a waited for Camille to arrive. Once she did, the scene began to unfold in front of us, but what really got our attention were the next words.

"I don't understand. You forgive me, but you're breaking up with me?" Camille questions, very confused, just as I was feeling as the scene unfolded in front of me as I chewed on a Crunch bar.

"Camille, 96% of all first romances end up in break ups. You kissing James gives us the perfect opportunity for us to get ours out of the way now." Logan explains like it was an easy geometry homework question.

"And you're not sad about that?" She asks perplexed.

"Yes. BUT I'm going to mask my pain by buzz cutting my hair, joining the gym, and nicknaming myself 'The Island'." Logan said reclining in the couch.

"But can we be friends?" Camille asks hopefully. Logan sighs from his position on the couch but brings himself up off the couch to stand and face Camille eye to eye.

"Friends it is." Logan said as he held out his hand for Camille to shake.

"Uhm, maybe we can hug too? I mean friends hug right?" Camille reasons. Logan looks like he was going to argue that point but then something else overcomes him and he changes his mind and says,

"It is the friendly thing to do." And they proceed to hug for a few moments. They finally separate and stare at each other intently but also in a romantic way and before you know it they both lean in and they're kissing. It was so cute and romantic yet confusing and intriguing all in one.

"Uh, yep, friends it is." Logan says kind of in a daze when they finally break apart. Camille just smirks at his behavior.

"So are they back together?" Mr. Bitters asks just as confused as I felt.

"Hard to say. It must be one of those on-again-off-again things." Katie said pondering the idea. I was surprised she, being her age, knew what that even meant.

"Hm." Mr. Bitters and I muse. He looks down at his watch casually and he almost jumps out of his skin. "Oh, Kendall and Jo!" He says. Katie and I look at each other panicked and we three rush out of the room quickly, and we made a plan that Mr. Bitters would carry me on his back so that we could get there quicker.

"The studio pushed up my scene." Jo says breathlessly, still recovering probably from running all the way from her car to the park.

"Gustavo is making us record a new song." Kendall sighs.

"Let's go." They both chime as they set some of the things they were holding down on the ground and together they lay down the picnic blanket, bring over the basket of food and eat happily together, expressing with their faces that it was delicious since their mouths were full.

Jo's driver, helping out with keeping their minute date to the second, held up a sign saying '30 MORE SECONDS!' Kendall and Jo quickly put down their half eaten sandwiches and get up quickly to play a quick game to Frisbee. They then put the Frisbee down after three throws and they sit back down on the blanket and Jo pulls out a flower and poses as Kendall reaches in the basket that had the food in it for a notepad and pen to sketch a portrait of Jo.

After about ten seconds, Jo looks over at Kendall and he reveals his quite awful stick drawing of her but she smiles sweetly at him as in saying 'thank you for the lovely drawing'. The driver honks his horn to get their attention, warning it was time for their 'dance party!'

They spring from their sitting position to stand up and Kendall goes to the boom box he brought and turns it on and they have a mini and quite goofy dance party and they dance awfully, but it was so cute you couldn't insult it. The music stops and the driver holds up his sign again but now it says 'time to kiss'. He looks away casually as Kendall and Jo sit back down on their picnic blanket and I turn around as they slowly lean in a kiss. From what I could see on Mr. Bitters and Katie's that it was cute.

"This was fun." I hear Jo say to Kendall, telling me they separated and I was free to watch the scene again.

"Best one minute date, ever." They both get up and look at each other and give a quick thanks and then sprint off in the direction they need to go. Mr. Bitters, Katie and I applaud on their performance as Jo runs past us.

"That was so, sweet." Mr. Bitters says as he whimpering.

"Oh stop your blubbering." Katie says as she smacks Mr. Bitters with a hankie.

"Thank you…" Mr. Bitter says as he blows loudly into the hankie.

"Come on Amber!" I hear Kendall's voice call out to me as he comes running back.

"What, why?" I ask confused as I struggle to get up.

"Gustavo said he wanted you to hear the new song." Kendall says out of breath almost.

"Uh, okay?" I say confused.

"Piggyback ride?" He suggests.

"You sure you can handle it?" I ask warily.

"Oh please, you're light as a feather." He says since I've guessed he knows since he's carried me quite a lot in the past.

"Okay, whatever you say." I sigh as I know that's not true at all but if he thinks so I'll take the compliment. He turns around in a ready position.

"Ready?" He calls back to me.

"As I'll ever be…" I sigh.

"One, two, three!" He counts loudly and I jump as high as I possibly can with a broken leg, but nonetheless he catches me with ease and he adjusts me so that I don't slip off his back.

"We'll see you guys later!" I call as Kendall already is making a dash for his car.

"OKAY. With all the recent big time love around here, I decided to dump the break up song, for the boyfriend song." Gustavo explains smugly to the boys in the recording booth.

"But I'm not anyone's boyfriend." James points out. Aw poor him, left out like that, he deserves to be someone's boyfriend.

"Don't start! Just sing!" Gustavo yells as James rolls his eyes. Aw, the poor baby.

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boy...

Have you ever had the feeling you're drawn to someone?

(Yeah)

Any reason anything they could of said or done?

And everyday I see you on you're own

And I can't believe that you're alone

But I overheard your girls and this is what they said

Looking for a

Looking for a

That you're looking for a boyfriend

I see that

Give me time, you know I'm gonna be that

Don't be scared to come put your trust in me

Can't you see all I really want to be

Is your boyfriend

Can't fight that

Let me down you know I'm coming right back

I don't care at all what you've done before

All I really want is to be your

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Let me take a little moment to find the right words

(To find the right words)

So when I kick it you it ain't something that you've heard

(Something that you've heard)

I don't know what kind of guy that you prefer

But I know I gotta put myself for worst

See I think got the kind of love that you deserve And I heard

That you're looking for a boyfriend

I see that

Give me time, you know I'm gonna be that

Don't be scared to come put your trust in me

Can't you see all I really want to be

Is your boyfriend

Can't fight that

Let me down you know I'm coming right back

I don't care at all what you've done before

All I really want is to be your

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

If you tell me where, I'm waiting here

Everyday like slum-dog millionaire

Bigger than the twilight love affair

I'll be here

Girl I swear

Looking for a

Looking for a

That your looking for a boyfriend

I see that

Give me time, you know I'm gonna be that

Don't be scared to come put your trust in me

Can't you see all I really want to be

Is your boyfriend

Can't fight that

Let me down you know I'm coming right back

I don't care at all what you've done before

All I really want is to be your

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

(Your boyfriend)

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

(All I really want is to be your)

(Your boyfriend)

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

(Yeah)

(All I really want is to be your)

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

Your boy boy b-b-boy-b-b-boyfriend

All I really want is to be your...

"Wow guys that sounded great." I say as Kelly and I high five on their awesome new hit.

"Did it make you want to fall in love with one of them?" Gustavo asks.

"Wh-What?" I stutter.

"I mean you're a girl right?" He questions me.

"I'm glad you could tell." I said crossing my arms over my chest.

"Would what the song's describing make you want to date them?"

"Uhm, should I really be answering this?" I ask, very uncomfortable.

"Yes!" James cheers from the booth. And I face palm myself.

"Uh, well…yes…? I mean those are great qualitites to have in a guy I guess so…yeah…now I'm going to go and hide in a corner where no one can find me."

"No you won't because for their upcoming music video to their song, you're going to play James' love interest."

"I'm going to play who and be what?"

"You heard me. This Friday, there's a fair, we're going to do the music video there and you're all going to bring your girls, and James is bringing you."

"But-" I trip protesting but get cut off.

"NO BUTS. You owe me." Gustavo said in a low voice.

"For what exactly?" I ask putting my hands on my hips.

"I had to find that kid who posted your song on Tube World and get the CD from her." Gustavo complained.

"…And?" I ask as I wait for him to continue with what was so bad about talking to a child's parent to borrow the CD.

"It took a lot of work." He argued.

"All you had to do was ask to borrow the CD, that's not hard at all!" I counter.

"Yeah! But she was vicious and ripped out my hair!" Gustavo said as he took off his hat to reveal his already baldhead.

"But you were bald to begin with!" I counter. Then he turns around and I see there's a huge chunk where hair should have been but wasn't. "Oh…" I say as I scratch my head where my hair would've been ripped out if that happened to me as he places his hat back on his head to cover up the patch of skin.

"So, you're doing the music video. No buts." He concludes.

"But-"

"NO BUTS!" Gustavo hollers as he leaves the studio with Kelly on his heels.

"Ugh…" I groan as I collapse on the couch. This was going to be an interesting few days until the dreaded Friday…More Joy

* * *

><p>WOW WHAT A HORRIBLE ENDING RIGHT? i just thought it was getting too long so i ended it there, there won't b a second part to this episode, so use your imagination, just replace the girl from the 'music video' on the show to Amber and have her be on the ferris wheel and not the brunette, NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS...or maybe something does..i dont know yet either, but when i know, you'll see :) so next episode will take a bit of time, it's based off of Big Time Live, and it'll be based around mainly Amber's own interview...gasp gave it away, but it was just to help you so you don't feel like you're watching the show, but the boys will of course be in the episode...and a guest appearance :D..GET PUMPED! okay bye..<p>

OH! AND REVIEW POR FAVOR, HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS IS AMAZING! I LOVE IT! okay now bye!


	11. Big Time Live

WOWZAH LOOKY HERE! here's a chapter i've worked, QUITE, hard on!

okay so i hope you like it, and so you're not confused, this chapter takes place a month and a HALF (count it!) after the last chapter, why? because that means Amber no longer has a broken leg! yay! i wasn't going to keep her crippled for long..so i couldn't think of how to fit her boot coming off into this chapter so i thought i'd just add it in the author's note, so if you don't read these, WHICH YOU SHOULD, then you'll be very confused...but if you're good and you read it...ENJOY MY LOVELY READERS! :D

o and as always, i don't own the boys, is it okay if this marks the last spot i say that? because i think at this point if you don't get it...then well, i cnt help you...

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Big Time Live<p>

"Guess who's got awesome news that's going to get me a lot of money?" Gustavo asks in a funny singsong voice.

"I'm guessing the one who's talking like this?" I say imitating him.

"Good assumption. Now how do you feel about television?" He asks suddenly.

"I like it like every other teenager does in America. What about it though…?"

"Like say…interview shows that talk to celebrities and find out about who's up and coming?" Kelly asked.

"I like those…wait…" I said catching on.

"Yup! You're starring on Main Street News with Heather and John!" Gustavo shouts excitedly.

"I am?" I scream as we both start jumping up and down and hugging each other happily. Then we realize what we're doing, stop immediately and step away from each other.

"Right, well you're going to need practice being interviewed, so here are a list of rules you are to follow to the dot." Kelly said handing me a big packet of rules to follow.

"Alright, I'll make sure to look them over." I say struggling to hold the packet.

"And boys! You're going to be on AM LA performing LIVE!" Gustavo announces loudly.

"Whoa!" They all muse together.

"Are you serious?" Carlos asks disbelieving what he just heard.

"I only watch that show every morning." James says excitedly.

"That's awesome." Kendall said as he and Logan fist bumped.

"So you'll both be going in together since they the sets are right next to each other tomorrow morning." Gustavo continued.

"Aw, I won't get to see you guys perform, oh well, I'll tape it." I say.

"This is going to be, awesome!" James said.

"So what are you going to wear?" Kelly asks me.

"Uh, well I don't know, what does one wear to an interview, it's definitely not like a college interview outfit right?" I ask just to clarify.

"Right, it needs to be stylish, unique, and something that people will remember you by." Kelly suggested. I ponder on the idea for a minute and can't come up with anything I own that would be _that_ striking to people.

"I got it!" James and Carlos say suddenly as they both smile at each other and excuse themselves from the room as they rush off to who knows where.

"Do you two know what they're planning?" I ask curiously.

"Nope." Kendall says popping the P.

"Not a clue." Logan says, which was an odd thing to hear coming out of his mouth. We waited for a minute and then Carlos and James come busting through the conference room doors with black zip up bags, each of them holding two of them.

"Okay, so we broke it down to four options." Carlos said.

"Broke _what_ down exactly…?" I ask cautiously.

"Well Carlos and I saw these in the wardrobe room the other day and immediately thought of you when we saw them, not like we think about you all the time or anything, it just struck us as something you would wear, not that we know your style down to every button…" James says awkwardly as he fiddles with one of the zip up bags as I smile to myself.

"What he means to say, once we saw these we knew that you would have to wear them to something special, and this is pretty special. So here are your options." They unzip all the bags and lay out four different but four very my style kind of dresses.

"So now, all _you_ have to do is pick." Carlos says as he gestures to the dresses laid out on the table.

"And we won't be hurt by which dress you chose because you would look beautiful in all of them." James says and he covers his mouth once he realizes what exactly he just said. I go over to him and hug him quickly then move over to examine the dresses further.

"Hm, well you guys sure made it hard for me to pick a dress…" I sigh as I keep scanning the dresses. Then after looking hard and a bit too long, I pick one.

"This one." I said lifting up a simple very light pink dress that almost looked white that was strapless and was tight at the waist then flowed down in rose rippled designs.

"I thought you'd like that one." He said knowingly.

"How'd you know I liked roses?" I asked him surprised.

"I just, had a feeling." James says sheepishly.

"*Cough* I told him *Cough*" Carlos coughs as James nudges him while giving him a quick glare until I tap him on the shoulder and his features soften again to ones filled with embarrassment.

"It's okay, I'm just happy you found it so now I can wear it." I said hugging him.

"Y-You're welcome." James stutters as he returns the hug and hugs my waist tightly.

"Now that you got the outfit, we'll pack it up and we'll give it to you tomorrow morning so you can change at the studio." Gustavo said.

"Why don't I just wear it there?" I ask.

"Because you don't know what could happen in between the time you get there and the time you're finally live on the show, am I right?" Kelly insists.

"True that Kelly." I said as I put the dress back in the zip up and hand it over to her as she slings it over her arm carefully.

So the next morning, very early in the morning, we pack up our stuff and we head over to the studio lot where our two television programs were shot every morning.

"Ooh." Carlos cooed as we looked around the impressive stage they were going to be performing on.

"Can you believe this? We're performing, on live TV!" James says excitedly.

"Can you believe it's five AM?" Logan says struggling not to yawn as Kendall puts a fist to his mouth to cover up his yawn.

"Why do early morning shows have to shoot so early in the morning?" Kendall questions as his mom continues to rest her head on his shoulder still dead asleep. Kendall was going to push his mom off but then Katie stops her and says,

"Don't wake her. She hasn't had her eight hours of sleep yet." She says as she's playing with her DS, she's been obsessing over this game for the past week I still haven't quite understood, and I grew up and babysat more game obsessed boys.

"Well it looks like you guys are settled. So I'm going to meet up with the producer of the show across the hall and I'll see you, when I see you I guess."

"Good luck." Logan wishes me.

"You'll be great." James says encouraging.

"Thanks, good luck to you guys!" I call back as I start walking away.

"Break a leg!" Carlos calls after me as I hear him groan and yell in pain as he's probably getting slapped. I turn around and smile.

"Don't worry I already did that." I say winking and walk off quickly to the other building that was connected to this one by a hallway and to find the producer of Main Street News with Heather and John.

I immediately run into the producer who barely acknowledges me as he hands me straight to the stylist committee and they do my make up, my hair, and even dress me in the dress Kelly handed to me before she left.

It was two minutes before I was on television and I was standing backstage watching a TV that was televising the show. Heather, a short haired blonde woman who was very tan and tall was talking to her co-host Jonathan, but better known as John, who had salt and pepper hair and was lean and wearing a suit that brought out his broad shoulders. Someone already hooked me up with a microphone already and I was standing quietly by myself as I waited for the co-hosts to introduce me.

"Now we have a very special treat for all you early risers out there." John said happily as he looked down at something that was on the table beside him. He picked it up and showed the audience a CD, more importantly a CD that had my picture on it that I didn't even know existed.

"She's been a big hit on Tube World and now she's living her dream here in LA to be an upcoming singer. So please welcome onto our show, Amber Riley!" Heather White introduces me onto the show. I take a deep breath and walk out and hear the crowd's loud cheering and I look up a bit startled but relax a little as I smile and wave and make my way over to where Heather and Jonathan were now standing.

"Hi Amber welcome to the show." Jonathan says to me as I shake his hand and I shake Heather's as well.

"Hi, thank you, I'm glad to be here." I say as I lay my flowery dress flat and sit so it doesn't ride up too high.

"I simply love what you're wearing by the way, it's the best first interview outfit I've seen yet." Heather compliments.

"Thank you, I thought I'd get a little more dressed up than I usually do. First time on television you know." I said shyly as I brushed some hair behind my ear.

"Well you look great. Oh wait, looking at your shoes just reminded me, didn't you have an accident just a few weeks ago?" Jonathan recalls.

"Yeah, I can't believe you knew about that, I didn't know it was such a big deal." I say actually shocked.

"Well some fans when they heard you were going to be on the show told us to ask how your leg is, and apparently by what you're wearing it seems to be fine." Heather says.

"Yeah, my doctor says I'm all healed up now, I just have to be careful for the next few days and not do anything to strain it." I say as I move my foot carefully to show the audience.

"How on Earth did you manage to break your leg?" Jonathan asks loudly.

"Well, it's a funny story…I sort of ended up falling through the floor of an apartment building and my friend fell on my leg." I say sheepishly as I laugh to myself as I can recall everything.

"Wow, that's crazy!" Jonathan comments as we all laugh.

"How'd that happen?" Heather asks intrigued.

"Well it took a lot to build up to that moment, but basically my friends and I were jumping too much in one place and the floor just collapsed right under us."

"WHAT a story!" Heather exclaims.

"I'm surprised you only broke your leg." Jonathan stated out of breath almost.

"Yeah, the doctor said I was pretty lucky. I'll never forget that." I sigh.

"Well we're glad that you're able to walk on your two feet again. Now, have you watched our show before?" Jonathan asks.

"(Sigh)…Even though I've lived now in LA for over two months now, I've been too busy with my career to watch TV." I hear some gasps from the audience. "Yeah I know, I'm shocked too, I'm behind on so many of my shows." I sigh as the audience laughs. Wait, they're laughing with me right?

"Oh alright, so that just makes things more fun now." Heather said.

"Should that worry me?" I asked concerned with what she meant by that.

"Oh not at all. Nothing to fear on this show." John reassures me.

"Okay good." I sigh.

"So Amber, tell us a bit about yourself." John continues.

"Okay, well my full name is Amber Riley Riordan. I'm from a small suburban town in Boston, Massachusetts, I'm just about to turn nineteen, and I love to sing." I state rather simply, sticking to Gustavo's plans of not giving too much personal information.

"Well that we know already," Heather said as she rolled her eyes playfully, "you're becoming major news on the web now with the videos you've posted on Tube World and now that you're working with the famous Gustavo Rocque."

"Yeah I feel so lucky to just go from a regular girl in Boston who liked making a fool of herself on the web to living this amazing dream." I say.

"But was your life ever really normal with you dad being Rick Riordan?" Jonathan asks.

"Of course, nothing really changed when my dad first really started to become more popular as an author. Although when I go to new places and I introduce myself they ask me if he's my dad, but I always say yes because I'm not afraid or embarrassed to say I'm related to him. I'm very proud of my dad, and with my own non-bias opinion I think you should all by his books." I say as I wink to the audience. That got a few chuckles in the audience that again calmed my nerves, since there were four cameras surrounding us and I was feeling a bit antsy.

"That's great to hear. Now with your career spiraling up," Heather starts but I laugh and come in saying,

"Well I wouldn't say _spiraling_ _up_." I say modestly.

"But why not? You're allowed to boast. I mean you now have over five hundred followers on twitter, some of your Tube World videos have gone viral, and people seem to really like you, am I wrong?" John asks the audience and they start cheering and clapping as I blush and put my hands to my cheeks quickly but then I put my hands together and say thank you to the audience.

"You see, you have plenty of support, so before you know it you'll be up and rising farther than ever." Heather chimes in.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." I say kindly to Heather and John as well as to the audience.

"And you're just so polite. Did you learn how to behave from your mother?" Heather asks.

"Oh yeah, my mom is all about being polite but yet stay true to yourself and not try and overkill it." I say and I hear some people chuckle in the audience.

"Well your mom has taught you well." Heather says.

"Why thank you." I say and we have a little laugh as I tried obviously to be proper.

"Has your dad not taught you that?" John asked.

"No, he has taught me to be myself and like myself and not change for others, but my mom, since I have my dad's reputation lurking over has always embraced the ideas I guess a bit more, wanting me to make my own mark on the world and not be in the shadows of my dad."

"Now that's one great mom." Heather states.

"She sure is, and she's probably tuning in right now, so hi mom, I love you." I say as I wave into the camera. Everyone in the audience, including Heather and Jonathan, awed.

"You are just too cute, would you rub some of that off on my kids?" John asks and everyone, including myself laughs. "You think I'm kidding…"

"How old are you kids, if you don't mind me asking." I ask.

"I don't mind at all. My youngest one is seven, then I have a nine year old and my eldest is twelve." He responds.

"Well if you need a babysitter maybe I can whip them into shape." I say as I laugh to myself a bit as I remember how life was like back at college when I sang Whipped Into Shape as Brooke Windom.

"You like kids?" Heather asks.

"Oh yeah, I have two kid siblings back at home, my sister Jordyn, with a y, is just about ten now and my brother Dillon just turned thirteen."

"Wow, so they are much younger than you." John states.

"Yeah it's weird to think I have a nine year difference between me and my sister and a six year age difference between my brother. But I love having kid siblings, well I guess almost teen brother and kid sister, they're a bolt load of fun when I'm home." I say as I start to miss the little munchkins a bit, but only a bit.

"When was the last time you visited home?" Heather asks.

"Well I haven't been since I've moved out here but my family came to see how I was doing last week actually, and also to celebrate my brother's birthday."

"Was it nice having them around or did it interfere with your work?" John asks next.

"NO, I loved having them around, although Gustavo didn't appreciate it that much, but came around eventually…"

"Oh right we should talk about him and the record company. What is it like to be apart of Rocque Records and working along side Gustavo Rocque?" Heather asks.

"Well, it's definitely interesting," I said, hmm, how to describe Gustavo in words that shouldn't be said on television? "I honestly have to say that I know Gustavo definitely knows what he's doing, but sometimes we don't always agree. We have creative differences, but we manage to work through our little disputes and end up writing great music together."

"Now have you written any of the songs so far?" John ponders as he lifts up the CD he had on the table before.

"I have, I've written half of them. I wrote Louder, although I did have some help with it thanks to my good friend Kendall, and then I wrote another song that's on Tube World. And Gustavo wrote Outta Here and then other songs that you haven't heard yet that I can't mention, yet."

"Well alright. And speaking of that song on Tube World, how did that come about and what got it to have such a big hit?" Heather asks.

"Well, I honestly wasn't expecting the song, which is called "Dreamer", to be such a success. It was never meant to get out until later."

"Really? So what happened? Because the username of the person who posted the song isn't your username, which yours is amberRriley28, right?" John asks.

"Right, I did not release it. But what happened was that I was goofing off in the recording studio with Big Time Rush a year ago and Gustavo found the song that I sung that the guys are actually featured in. So he ended up sending some CDs to some co-workers and clients of his and he got their kids to listen to it and they ended up liking it. And the girl who posted the video with the lyrics to my song, terrystarling44, was one of the several kids that received the CD."

"You've been to LA before you came here to work with Gustavo?" John asks.

"Was that all you got from that?" Heather says as she slaps Jonathan on the knee as everyone, including myself laughs.

"I'm sorry, that's just what got my attention." John states to protect himself for jumping to another conversation.

"No, it's alright." I say as I try to get them to stop fighting. They both look over at me.

"So how did you come to LA?" He asks.

"I was on a summer program called Project Star-catcher. It's a program for kids, well teenagers and young adults like myself, who want to really work on their talents and live their dreams. And so I accidentally got caught up with meeting Big Time Rush when I, well…"

"What? You can tell us, we won't tell anyone, isn't that right?" Heather said as she looked out to the audience who cheered in response. I laughed at the comment but decided to just cut the story as short as I could.

"Okay, so the story is, I accidentally entered a contest for my friend, and the prize was a chance to meet Big Time Rush and be in their music video."

"Oh right! You were featured in their song _Famous_ right?" Heather recalls.

"That's the one." I say as I reflect on the good times I had working with the crew and the band along with my friends on the music video.

"Oh yeah I remember everyone going crazy once they really heard of you making it on your own when they recognized you as the star of their music video." John says as he was looking to Heather who could recall.

"_And _she was just recently in their music video, _Boyfriend_ right?" Heather stated as well.

"Yup." I said nodding my head.

"Wow, so you've been working a lot with them haven't you?" John inquires.

"Yes I have. And they're awesome to work with, and there are sure some good memories that are filled with laughing at each other while filming." I say remembering last month.

"Oh let's talk about that more later, continue with your story!" Heather says as she shushes John up and leans in, surprisingly very curious.

"Okay, so I helped her out and we ended up winning the contest, but…" I pause thinking of how to explain this without mentioning Natalie Woods, the traitor psychopath. "They thought I was the person who won, and so I got stuck in a room with Big Time Rush without knowing anything about them."

"You didn't know who they were beforehand?" John said rather shocked.

"I did not. I know, everyone says the same exact thing when I tell this story. Although I do have a valid excuse, since I lived in Boston, they weren't very big yet, or here in LA either, although it's hard to tell with everyone loving their music now."

"True, so what was your first impression of the boys?" Heather asks.

"Well, the truth is, I thought they were very down to earth, good looking guys."

"You thought they were good looking?" Heather said intrigued.

"Yes, yes I did." I admitted laughing at myself for saying that.

"Did you have a crush on any of them or was that too early?" She asked.

"Well at the time I didn't because I had a boyfriend back at home." I said.

"_Had_? Uh oh, past tense, you're not seeing him anymore?" John said.

"No, my boyfriend and I ended our relationship a few months ago." I admit rather sadly.

"Did you hear that guys? Amber Riley upcoming superstar is single!" John says as some people in the audience holler and whistle at me, of course with the added attention my face gets flushed.

"And how are you holding up?" Heather asks rather concerned. She was so nice.

"I'm okay, I mean, we dated for a while and he was really the first guy I can honestly say I could've loved, so it was hard for me to be separated from him at first, but I am learning to move on." I said.

"Do you still keep in touch?" Heather asks.

"Unfortunately no." I say awkwardly slow.

"Aw, that's a shame. Sorry to hear about that." John says.

"That's all right, thank you though." I say kindly.

"Now, lets move on to the boys. Do you find it funny that last year you were just a girl with a dream who was lucky enough to meet the boys of Big Time Rush and now you're working along side them?" Heather asks.

"I do actually find it funny that now I'm working along side them. It's just been such a rush it seems sometimes like I'm still dreaming."

"So from what I've seen from photos that got sent to us you've been seen hanging out with them a lot as of recent and a lot last year." Heather states.

"Well I am happy to say I am lucky to be such good friends with all the boys and we get along great."

"Well it sure looks like it, but is there something more?" John hints rather suspiciously. Oh God, where was he going with that?

"Let's take a look at this picture." A picture comes up on the screen behind us and I turn around and slightly blush at how the picture was taken, it certainly looks like there's something but since I lived that moment I knew there wasn't.

"Oh, goodness, that's from such a long time ago." I sigh as I turn around and put my head in my hands.

"Now, explain what's going on here." John asks.

"Okay, so this was taken last year, it was during the time we were shooting the music video for their song. And so Kendall, the one holding me and spinning me around, found out I was ticklish. So I tried running away from him because I don't like to be tickled, since I'm _very_ ticklish."

"Are you?" Heather asks laughing.

"Yes, very much so."

"You heard it here first people. Don't tickle Amber!" John calls out and everyone laughs.

"So anyway, because I'm so ticklish, I was running away since I knew he was going to try and tickle me and so he catches up to me and so I don't run away he grabs me and tickles me and that's why I look so stupid and giddy."

"Because you were being tickled?" John asks.

"OR because you and Kendall were having a secret fling?" Heather inquires.

"Exactly, wait what? Oh no, no, no, no, we never had a 'thing', this was purely innocent." I say as I use my fingers to add quotation marks when I said 'thing'. "I mean we joked around a lot and hung out countless of times on set, but I did that with James and Logan and Carlos too."

"Really? Then explain this picture that was taken later that day." The photo of Kendall and I goes off the screen as another one slides on of Kendall and I again.

"Wow, you're really digging into this aren't you?" I say as I cross my arms and cross my legs and get comfortable, knowing this was going to be much longer than was originally expected.

"OH, it's not us who wanted to do this, it's everyone out there who wants to know the truth, honey." Heather says.

"So, you and Kendall, alone it looks like since there's no trace of the other ¾ s of the band, are enjoying a nice break off set drinking smoothies. Care to enlighten us on this?" John says as he crosses his legs.

"We weren't _alone_." I say as the two of them give me looks. "Okay so we were alone, but not by choice, well not our choice. I asked the others if they wanted to come along and get smoothies but they said no, so it just ended up being Kendall and me getting smoothies, then we returned back to the set afterwards."

"Yes but why is his arm around you?" John asks.

"It's not _around _me, it's resting behind the bench we were sitting on." I counter as politely as I knew how.

"Right…" John said as he didn't sounded impressed with my reasoning, which was the honest truth, well sort of, maybe Kendall meant it as something more when I remember when he tried kissing me but I blurted out I had a boyfriend, but I definitely wasn't going to mention that with Kendall having a girlfriend and definitely because it was none of their business.

"I'm not kidding. Nothing was going on, we were talking about how much fun it was shooting the music video and talking about what we were going to do later."

"Oo, so you two did something later?" Heather said fascinated with this thought of Kendall and I being a secret thing.

"Not just us, the rest of the guys, plus my friends Tess, Nick, Lydia and Cliff came along and we hung out and went bowling."

"Oh I love bowling! Did you go to the one down on the main road?" John asked a bit more excited than I was expecting, but I smile nonetheless.

"We did actually and we all had a blast and what made it even better was that my team won."

"You split up into teams." Heather says.

"Yes, it was Big Time Rush against my friends and I." I say.

"But there was five of you and only four members of the band, so that's technically unfair." John said.

"Oh no don't worry, my close friends Lydia and Cliff rotated every other turn since like you just did, Big Time Rush made that assumption and said they wouldn't play unless we kicked someone off but that wouldn't be fair so we just rotated."

"Well that's very nice of you. So this is just a friendly congratulations hug you shared?" Heather says as a new picture comes up on screen.

"God _who_ is sending these in, I want to have a word with them, mainly to say to stop following us!" I sigh in a little frustration as I look to the screen and almost yell the last part.

"Well this is just the beginning of it. Now this is Kendall, once again." John stated the obvious as the both of us blondes were on screen hugging.

"Ugh, yes, we hugged, is it wrong for friends to hug now?" I said agitated.

"Oh no, but you're being defensive." Heather commented.

"Because this is annoying, I shouldn't have to explain my life and who I hang out with to everyone," I said and although I was annoyed I pretended to just think this was funny so I was laughing a little bit at the whole situation. "Obviously this one guy who was trying to make a point, a point that isn't true to get attention, because it's funny that he didn't get pictures of me when I hugged the other guys and got piggyback rides from them and danced with Logan on the lanes."

"You danced with Logan on the lanes?" Heather asked, as the audience was making weird noises. God why did I bring that up? Again, it was nothing but a joke that turned into a very good memory.

"…Yes." I say after a pause.

"So what got that started?" John egged on for an explanation.

"Well I was being funny and making obstacles for the guys to get passed when it was their turn to bowl, but then Logan did the same thing when it was my team's move, so then we started having a little dance battle and it was funny and I have a picture here on my phone."

"You still have the photo on your phone after a whole year?" Heather asked.

"Oh no, I just posted it onto my Pop Finder and I still have it saved in my LA album."

"Oh, let's bring it up on the screen." John calls out.

"It's close to the end of the album since that was my last of my pictures with the boys since the rest of them are with my family when we vacationed in LA afterwards." I state, if that was going to help at all.

"So you stayed in LA when you were on Project Star-catcher, then stayed after the program by yourself to then wait for your family to come up so you could spend time with them before college?" John asks shocked.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened." I say as the audience laughs at my obvious annoyed look although I'm trying not to sound it.

"Okay, okay we'll drop it. Oh and here's the picture!" Heather says excitedly. So the picture that James took, as I recall, of Logan and me dancing as we didn't care who saw on the bowling lanes, it looked really cool with the lighting and we were both wearing white so the florescent lights really make us stand out, although we look kind of ridiculous. "Aw, that's a nice picture."

"Yeah I can remember it almost as if it happened yesterday or the day before." I sigh.

"Really? So your relationship, or more rather friendship with the boys, really means a lot to you." Heather asks.

"Yeah, I mean I didn't know anyone in LA, and I was just a normal girl on a summer program and all of a sudden a random act changes all that and I couldn't be happier that it did."

"Aw," Heather and John along with the audience gush, as I blush a bit.

"So, let's talk about more about your music and what's in store for you and what you're looking for." John says changing the subject.

"Okay, ask away." I say, as I feel more relaxed now we're done talking about the guys.

"Okay, so your music is about relationships and the hardships that come with them, when you see yourself in the future, whether it's near of far, do you see yourself singing about other things as well?" John asks.

"Well since the emotions of relationships and their hard times really seems to get to people and really connects to them and makes it more personal, I think that's why I chose to write about things that I've felt. But I hope in the future to-"

"Hey, you're not allowed on stage, they're rolling!" I hear a voice from behind me yell as I hear stumbling of feet, the three of us on our comfy chairs turn our attention to the interference and just my luck; it's whom we've been talking about this whole time.

"Oh look everyone it's Big Time Rush stopping in for a visit. What a coincidence that they're here." Heather says happily as she claps and I hear roars of cheering from the audience raise to the point when it's almost deafening. The guys stagger in spot as they look out at the audience; they adjust themselves and wave to the crowd, who love the attention.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" I say in a hushed but definitely in an angered tone. This was a big moment in my career, my very first interview, and they're here now, and especially as we just finished talking about them.

"Hi, sorry, I know you'll hate us later but this is _really_ super important." Kendall whispers to me. I give him a questioning look but then I don't get an answer as my chair is lifted off the ground, causing me to tense up, I see all the boys lifting each side of the chair as they then begin to carry me off the stage but they stop quickly and turn around to face Heather and John.

"Sorry, we need to borrow her for a minute." Logan explains.

"Put me down!" I yell at the guys as I hang onto the edge of my seat for dear life.

"Won't be long, by the way you look lovely today." James says as he obviously was directing the compliment towards Heather who smiles.

"Why thank you boys, but flattery will get you nowhere." John says as he adjusts the tie he was wearing. We all, including Heather, give him a questioning look but then the guys snap out of it and lift me off stage again and out the door as I'm still yelling at them to put me down.

They finally put me down after a minute and drag me into a closet, not suspicious at all, four guys, one girl, and a chair…very weird.

"Okay, _what _in your right minds thought that this was a good idea? You know how important this interview is right?" I yell but then the guys quickly hush me before I could yell at them further.

"Look, we're really super duper sorry about this but we seriously need your help right about now." Kendall says as he sounded super apologetic.

"On what? Wait, aren't _you_ supposed to be having your own television appearance soon?" I ask very confused, and I found it hard to believe I could be any more confused than I was already; maybe that's why I was having a splitting headache.

"And that's the problem, we got cut out of the show by the really mean and scary lady that runs the slots for the show." James said panicked.

"She said there wasn't enough time and so we tried getting back on but the security guys started chasing us around." Logan explained.

"But thankfully we got them taken cared of since Katie is keeping them occupied and has been for some time now." Carlos finishes. I stare at them like they all just grew three more heads each.

"What can a ten year old possibly do to keep guys twice her size and ten times her weight occupied for that long?" I ask.

"It's Katie, she can do anything." Kendall said.

"Right, forgot for a second who we were talking about." I sigh and I see the desperation in their faces. "Okay, what do I need to do to help, since by the looks of it, you're obviously desperate?" I sigh once again as I run my fingers through my hair.

"Awesome!" Carlos cheers as he comes and gives me a hug.

"Yeah, yeah don't thank me yet hockey head." I say as I gingerly push him off. "What exactly is it that I need to do?"

"Well we're going to be unleashing total disaster, well at least in the eyes of Jane Kennedy, the producer." James said.

"So we need you to help us stall the beefy yellow jacket security guards from stopping us." Logan wrapped up.

"Okay…sounds, easy, enough." I said sighing as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Great so you're on board, now here's what we need to do…" Kendall said and we all got into a little group huddle. He explained what each of them we're going to do, we broke apart and gathered our supplies, I went with Logan to go and find Mr. Begley's own equipment, like his energy drink, saw, and tasers. We all met up below the studio where they were shooting the cooking section.

"Hollidaise, you're up. And take as much time as you need…" Came an annoying voice I remember as Jane Kennedy when I was leaving the guys to go to my studio set. And then a bell sounded meaning the show was back on air.

"Today, LA, we are making beef bourguignon. Now this recipe can take a _long_ time to prepare, but it's worth it." The chef said from above with his French accent. The floors were very surprisingly thinner than I thought.

"Okay quick, pass me the saw." Kendall said from his place on the ladder he was standing on, which was directly underneath the chef.

"Here." Logan said as he handed it to Kendall.

"Sorry chef, but we have to _cut_ this segment, short." Kendall said as he was cutting through our ceiling, which was the chef's floor. He was cutting an almost perfect circle and before he had to finish the full circle the chef came falling through the floor and collapsing on the ground.

"He'll be fine." We all say at the same time, even though I knew we wouldn't be because the same thing happened to me and I came out with a broken leg, but my job on this mission was not worry about the chef, it was to put Carlos' hat on his head and send him up the ladder and support him so he didn't fall. Kendall came down the other side.

"Okay, move into Phase Two." Kendall ordered.

"Roger." I said saluting.

"Let's go." Logan agreed. He and James went off on one direction as Kendall and I took on the stairs to get up to the next level as Carlos did his cooking.

"Still no words." Came the reporter's voice.

"Cue card! Cue card!" Screamed Jane Kennedy. I handed the cue cards I made for Kendall to show the reporter as I went to where I knew Logan was going to be to grab my 'secret weapon'.

"And here's the financial update with our new correspondent, Logan!" The reporter I remembered named Miles announced.

"WHAT?" Jane cried.

"Quick hand them over." I said to Logan as he was crawling out of the other hole he and James cut through the floor with the saw. He handed me the tasers and I went off to where I knew I was going to be needed next and he crawled out of the hole in his suit to do just as Miles said he was going to do.

"Go back to Miles, BACK TO MILES!" I see and hear Jane scream into her headset as the cameras and her podium swerve back to where Miles was, chilling with Carlos eating fish sticks with their feat up.

"These are really excellent Chef Carlos." Miles compliments Carlos as they toast their fish sticks by hitting them together and eating them cheerfully as Jane goes crazy with anger.

"Ah I'm going to put my feet up too." Miles says as he does just that.

"Get me…Get me every security officer on the KULA lot and destroy Big Time Rush!"

"This just in!" Miles calls as dramatic breaking news music blasts through the room. "Every security officer on the KULA lot is currently involved in a low speed chase."

"Sweet!" Carlos and Miles cheer excitedly.

"Let's go live!" Carlos suggests pointing to the screen.

"Do you want me to go to commercial? What does 'this' mean?" He says as he exaggerates the hand motions that Jane Kennedy was doing in frustration. Then on cue the yellow security officers that haven't left the set once charge after Carlos.

"Gotta go!" Carlos says as he taps Miles on the chest and runs off to where I am, ready in position.

"Here they come!"

"I'm ready for 'em."

"Ah! Chef Carlos and, three guys, in yellow jackets!" Miles announces as he swirls around in his chair to see the action for himself. Two guards run up to where I am and I point the lasers at them and press the switches on both tasers and I shock them until they're flat on the ground. Then the third one came in and I realized that the tasers needed to charge up before I could use them again. Why didn't Mr. Begley bring more than two tasers? Gosh, doesn't everyone know pairs of three are all the rage?

"What are you going to do now pretty girl?" He said. Oo I'm _so_ scared.

"Well why don't you come on over here and see for yourself." I egged him on.

"Refusing to disarm is against lot rules, I'm taking you in." He said in a deeper tone of voice.

"You lay a hand on me and I'll-" I tried saying but he cut me off.

"You what, you'll powder my face with your make up?" OH that does it…

"No, I'll just do this." I say as I take my hand and pinch his pressure point located between were your neck meets your shoulder, elbow him in the gut and then knock him to the ground.

"Whoa…" I hear two guys from behind me say. I whip around and see James and Kendall standing there with their mouths slightly ajar.

"What, you've never seen a girl defend herself before?" I ask casually.

"Not like that I haven't…" Kendall said.

"Where, how'd you…" James tries formulating a sentence but can't.

"Learn how to do that?" They nod but say nothing. "My dad once saw guys looking at me funny and said that in order to avoid people like them, I have to learn how to defend myself if they don't go easy."

"And you learned people's pressure points?"

"Yup." I said popping my P. "There's a month's course on it back in Boston."

"I'm so visiting Boston." James whispers loudly and I smirk at how stunned the two of them are.

"Don't you guys still have to perform, mainly the reason why we did all this crazy stuff…?" I asked, trying to jog their memories.

"Right!" They both said together and we leave to meet up with everyone else."

"Oh are we back?" the three of us hear Miles ask as we go near the cameras and I help the guys look less sweaty and more presentable when they perform on stage.

"We're back?" Jane asked angrier than ever. "Why are we BACK? We don't have any more segment!"

"We're four minutes short!"

"Oh, if only there was something there could be done to, fill that time?" Kendall sighs. Then the boys all 'hmm' in unison as they put on their thinking faces.

"NEVER!" Jane shrieks as she pushes her podium out of the way. "Do you hear me? I would rather have four minutes of dead air and to get _fired _than to lose to you!" Jane said pulling out the tasers I discarded about two minutes ago. How she got a hold of them I don't know but I watched as the guys stood there terrified as the beams were pointing straight to James and Kendall's chests.

"As long as I'm standing here." Jane kept going menacingly. "Big Time Rush will NEVER perform on live TV!" She screams and just when she looks ready to shoot the tasers at the guys, she get run over by a go cart full of nitrogen gas, driven by…Katie?

"Yes! I did it! I defeated the evil she beast!" How ironic for Katie to say, and how appropriate too. Then she calms down and looks at what she done. "And I was playing while driving again, wasn't I?" She asks guiltily. What I wasn't sure of was whether I was more shocked that she didn't realize she hit Jane Kennedy until now, or that this isn't the first time she's driven something while playing her DS and crashed.

"Yup." The guys said casually. I just gave them all sideways glances and just pretended to shrugh it off like it was nothing.

"Miles…" Came a new voice. It was the original guy who holds up the cue cards. Meaning it was the guys' time to perform!

"Come on! We got to get moving! We're not letting you miss your chance at performing after all we've done today." I yell at them.

"Right!" They said together.

"Let's go boys!" Carlos cheers and they head off happily as Katie and I go off to the side and watch what unfolds.

"Oh words to read!" Miles cheers happily. "Let's give it up for, BIG TIME RUSH!" He announces and we all cheer happily as the guys begin to sing _Til I Forget About You._

Get a call on a random afternoon

I pick it up and I see that it's you

Like my heart, you were breaking the news, you say

It's over, it's over, it's over.

Heading out, cause I'm out of my mind

All my friends are gonna see me tonight

Staying here 'til the sun starts to rise,

And I'm, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna...

Dance hard, laugh more, turn the music up now

Party like a rock star! Can I get a 'what now'?

I swear I'll do, anything that I have to

'Til I forget about...

Jump up, fall down, gotta play it loud now

Don't care, my head's spinning all around now

I swear I'll do, anything that I have to...

'Til I forget about you!

'Til I forget about you!

And you thought, I'd be here on my own

Waiting for you to knock on my door

Since you left I don't wait by the phone

I'm moving, I'm moving, I'm moving

Found a place where I can lose myself

And just leave your memory on the shelf

See I'm fine, no I don't need nobody else

Cause I'm, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going...

Dance hard, laugh more, turn the music up now

Party like a rock star! Can I get a 'what now'?

I swear I'll do, anything that I have to

'Til I forget about...

Jump up, fall down, gotta play it loud now

Don't care, my head's spinning all around now

I swear I'll do, anything that I have to...

'Til I forget about you!

Spending money like you don't mean a thing

Going crazy, now don't even think

I'm losing my mind

It's all I can do

'Til I forget about you

Dance hard, laugh more, turn the music up now

Party like a rock star! Can I get a 'what now'?

I swear I'll do, anything that I have to

'Til I forget about...

Jump up, fall down, gotta play it loud now

Don't care, my head's spinning all around now

I swear I'll do, anything that I have to...

'Til I forget about you! (you)

'Til I forget about you

'Til I forget about you

'Til I FORGET ABOUT YOU!

"Woo!" Katie and I cheer from the sides as we run on the stage and hug our friends/her brother.

"You finally got to perform on live television. How do you feel?"

"Totally awesome!" Carlos cheers as he picks me up and I hug him back excitedly.

"In latest news, Big Time Rush: ROCKS!" Miles announces and we all cheer loudly. "Now that's it for today's morning show, see you next time on AM LA!" Miles says as he comes over and signs out. The cameras go off and the lights go down and everyone's calm and happy.

"Wow, what a rush!" I say as I wipe my forehead.

"Big time!" The guys said and we all laugh.

"By the way, when did you show end Amber?" Katie asked me casually.

"Oh no…" I say in a low voice.

"THE SHOW!" The guys and I exclaim.

"GO!" The guys say when I don't move. I then nod my head, wave goodbye and I'm sprinting down the halls as I make it back to the other studio where Heather and John are probably sitting there, wondering where I am, or tuned into AM LA and watched everything that happened…I don't know which one's more embarrassing.

I burst through the doors and I ignore the calls that people are yelling after me and I run on stage, panting and saying.

"Sorry, sorry, super sorry for running off, well actually being carried off like that, but that's besides the point, I had to take care of something and…" I look over to where I was sitting before and see a long couch, which was now hosting four new people that I was certainly shocked to see. "Fall Out Boy?" I ask, dumbstruck.

"Yes?" They say in unison like another band I know.

"Wow, I can't believe you're here, I idolize you guys, I love your music, huge, HUGE, fan." I say as I hold the last guy sitting down's hand.

"Thanks." Says my favorite member, Pete Wentz, aka the guy's hand I was gripping onto for dear life, but to save myself from embarrassment I let go.

"So you're a fan?" John asks from behind me.

"Are you kidding?" I say as I sit next to Heather and Jonathan. "_Dance, Dance_ was my anthem for a whole year." I sigh as I remember blasting it in my room back in Boston.

"Well they _are_ going to perform." Heather said.

"They are? You are?" I ask first looking at the hosts then at Fall Out Boy.

"Yeah, and I think I know what song we're doing, now." Patrick Stump said jokingly already knowing the answer.

"Oh my God, I'm seeing one of my all-time favorite bands play one of my anthems. This rocks! I especially love the guitar solo during the pre-chorus." I say to them as I gush over their song.

"You know it?" Joe Trohman asked.

"Down flat." I say proudly. They all look at each other as if they shared a secret conversation and they smirked at one another and turned back towards where I was sitting.

"You want to play it?" Patrick asked.

"Huh?" I say a little bit in a haze from the question.

"Yeah, show us how big of a fan you really are." Andy Hurley stated.

"Well, uh, alright." I manage to finally say.

"Wow, this is something you don't see next to never, Amber Riley will be joining Fall Out Boy in a performance." Jonathan exclaims as the crowd cheers. So I got up with them as we moved over to another part of the stage where the instruments with their band name on them were laid out on stands. I went off to the side and asked if they had an extra guitar, thankfully they had an electric base, which I am used to playing at home.

"You ready?" Pete asked me as I walked back onto stage as I adjusted the strap so I wouldn't drop the guitar.

"Was born ready." I said as we both smiled mischievously and he wished me good luck. We moved into position on stage, I was on one side of Patrick while Pete went to the other, Joe and Andy got set up and Patrick looked back at us and we all nodded and started playing as the familiar opening chords filled the room as everyone cheered at the tune.

She says she's no good with words but I'm worse

Barely stuttered out

"A joke of a romantic" or stuck to my tongue

Weighed down with words too over-dramatic

Tonight its "it can't get much worse"

Vs. "no one should ever feel like…"

I'm two quarters and a heart down

And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds

These words are all I have so I'll write them

So you need them just to get by

[Whispered:] We're going into D-Minor

And on command almost we all switch into D-Minor like instructed and the chorus rang through the whole set and it sounded amazing, I felt like I was dreaming.

Dance, Dance

We're falling apart to half time

Dance, Dance

And these are the lives you'd love to lead

Dance, this is the way they'd love

If they knew how misery loved me

You always fold just before you're found out

Drink up its last call

Last resort

But only the first mistake and I...

I'm two quarters and a heart down

And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds

These words are all I have so I'll write them

So you need them just to get by

I wasn't aware of this in the moment but I found out that Pete nodded to some guys back stage and they ran off and brought out a mike and a stand to hold it and it was placed in front of me. I was shocked but I played along because one, we were on TV, two, these guys were my idols, and three, the lyrics were just about to come up any second now, and when the tune changed, it was my cue to sing.

Why don't you show me the little bit of spine

You've been saving for his mattress, love

Everyone was cheering that I just sang that line by myself and then after some more strumming on our electric guitars we all came in for the chorus.

Dance, Dance

We're falling apart to half time

Dance, Dance

And these are the lives you'd love to lead

Dance, this is the way they'd love

If they knew how misery loved me

As we started playing the guitar solo right before the bridge, I saw everyone, and I mean everyone, get up out of the chairs and start hollering for us to keep going. Now since it was time for the bridge, I knew that I was going to leave it to the guys to lead and so I decided to do the background vocals.

Why don't you show me the little bit of spine

You've been saving for his mattress (mattress, mattress)

I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me

Dance, Dance

We're falling apart to half time

Dance, Dance

And these are the lives you'd love to lead

Dance this is the way they'd love (way they'd love)

Dance this is the way they'd love (way they'd love)

Dance this is the way they'd love

If they knew how misery loved me

As the final notes on our strings were vibrating, almost, throughout the room and they thought we were done, we did the last few lines as we kicked back into the tune again as we sang.

Dance, Dance

Dance, Dance

Dance, Dance

Dance, Dance

Everyone was up on their feet cheering at the top of their lungs. There were some whistles and hollers and I knew, although I couldn't see myself, I was smiling like an idiot at how loud the audience was. I was awakened from my haze when I felt a hand placed on my shoulder. I jolt a bit and I see a hand that led to a tattooed arm I knew awfully well and I was now face to face with Pete Wentz.

"Well you were right, you really know your chords. Nice job." He said congratulating me.

"Really? Thanks, that was, BEYOND, cool." I say as I continue to smile brightly at my idol.

"Well I'm glad we got to rock together." He said and I couldn't help but fan girl a bit and quickly wrap my arms around his middle and squeeze a bit as I cheered a bit. I let go quickly and stepped back saying a small sorry as I looked away.

"You're funny." He says as he laughs at my appearance and I can't help but meet his eyes and smile. I was in heaven right about now.

"Wow! Wasn't that great?" I hear Jonathan come from next to us as he stood now almost in between us. "You are ONE talented rocker!"

"Thank you." I say bashfully.

"What do you guys have to say about it?" Jonathan asks the band.

"I thought she was phenomenal. I've never known a girl who can strum like that." Patrick said as he came up to me and I shook his extended hand.

"Totally impressed." Joe said as he was crossing his arms in satisfaction.

"Wow, now, how do you feel Amber? Performing with one of your favorite bands?" Heather asks me.

"No words can explain how I feel right now, I feel like I'm dreaming." I say breathlessly.

"Need a pinch?" She asks in a joking tone.

"I just might." I joke and we all end up laughing.

"Oh wait, okay, I think that's all the time we have today. Tune in tomorrow to hear about Brad and Angelina and what they're plans are. Have a good day!" John and Heather both call out together at the end.

"And we're out!" A man says off stage as he and many other people I don't know where they came from flooded the stage and was cleaning it and doing what they needed to keep it maintained.

"Amber!" I hear someone calling my name off stage. Then I turn around and before I knew it I'm enveloped in a hug and being lifted off the ground. I force my head to look up from the guy's chest to his face and realize its James. "You. Were. Amazing!"

"Thank you, but I can't breath James, oxygen is a necessity."

"Sorry." He said putting me down and fixing my hair as I laugh at him and he joins in.

"Amber!" Came another voice and I'm entangled in another hug, this time it's Kendall though.

"I knew you like Fall Out Boy, but I didn't know you could rock like them too!" He continued as he hugged me tightly then let go and put me out at arms length, looking me over like I wasn't myself.

"Well, surprise." I say laughing sheepishly.

"Where'd you learn to play like that?" Logan asks, flabbergasted.

"Many, _many_, hours of lessons and self dedication. It's a hard song and a fast one and you have to get down flat or else it doesn't do the song justice." I sigh at remembering how many times it took for my fingers to finally be tough enough against the metal strings and _not _bleed.

"Well you served it up!" Carlos said congratulating me.

"Thanks you guys!" I said cheerfully. Wow, today's just been filled with surprised and praise.

"Hey." A deeper voice came from behind me. I turn around and see Fall Out Boy patiently standing there.

"Oh, introductions. Guys, meet Fall Out Boy, Fall Out Boy, meet Big Time Rush." I say gesturing to each band as I mentioned them.

"What's up?" Joe asked.

"Can I have your autograph? It's not to lame to ask for?" Kendall asks.

"Sure." Fall Out Boy said in unison with a carefree attitude as they all signed something of each of theirs.

"You want one too Amber?" Pete asked me as my heart flutters as he says my name.

"U-Uh, yes! Yes, yes!" I said excitedly. "Ugh, if only I brought my car with me to LA, then I could go run and get my CD in the glove compartment."

"I think we might have one backstage we can sign for you." Joe says.

"But isn't that your own copy?" I ask. I didn't want to dare take what's theirs.

"We have tons of our own copies for those lucky few who we get to meet and really like." Patrick explained.

"And you're definitely one of those people." Pete insists.

"O-Okay." I say happily as my voice gets higher than intentional and we all laugh and they go off backstage to their dressing room presumably and get the CD. I stand there, completely star struck as they walk away.

"Amber? Earth to Amber?" Came Logan's voice.

"Sorry, I'm not on Earth right now, I'm in rock heaven!" I said as I squealed a bit to the guys' surprise.

"Did any of you know how big a rocker she was?" I heard James ask around as he looked at the guys.

"I knew she liked rock music, but I didn't realize she was this enthusiastic." Kendall admits.

"Are you kidding? How could you guys not tell?" I ask stunned.

"Because rock is so…well…" Logan says but then decides not to spill what it was he wanted to say.

"Pretty much anti-you." Carlos concludes.

"Is it really?" I ask surprised.

"Well rock is edgy and rebellious and you don't really act like that." James says.

"And you don't think helping you get a spot on AM LA when you got kicked off wasn't rebellious enough for you?" I ask crossing my arms over my chest.

"She's got you there." Logan said.

"Okay so that was pretty awesome when you electrocuted those security guards and beat that other guy up, but that was still the first sign." James comments.

"Oh pa-lease. I've loved rock music since my sophomore year of high school. And I've loved Fall Out Boy since then too. They're amazing and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Pete Wentz and all 37 of his tattoos." I sigh happily.

"You know how many he has?" Carlos asks shocked.

"Yup, I've watched enough interviews and have been enough concerts to gather _that_ much." I said like it was no big deal.

"Have you now?" A voice came up from behind me. I freeze in fear and turn around slowly like I was on a plat for that completely just spun me around and I saw the smirking faces of Fall Out Boy.

"Oh, hi…Uhm." I said taking a pause. "How long have you been there for…?"

"Since that guy said something about you electrocuting and beating up body guards."

"No I think it was security guards." Andy says as he tries to recall.

"Yup." James said from behind me, I quickly glared at him and then I turned around looking at the members of Fall Out Boy again sheepishly scratching the back of my head.

"Well since you love rock music, and me, so much, if you need help in finding new music or learning new songs, or just plain bored, call." The gorgeous Pete Wentz said as he took out a sharpie and opened the CD to write something down and then handed it to me. I was stunned in awe so he took my hand and made sure I was holding on to the CD.

"So…you're _not_ weird-ed out?" I ask slowly with a shocked expression.

"Trust me, we've heard worse and have been asked worse." Patrick said.

"Really? Like what?" I asked curiously.

"One persona asked me if I would get a tattoo of their name on my chest." Joe said.

"Same here." Pete said. "And one said they wanted my pants." He added.

"Wow, that's definitely, forceful…"I said as I thought about that desperate fan.

"Well we have to hit the road, we have a concert in Seattle tonight and we need to leave now." Patrick said.

"Can I get one round of hugs before you all leave?" I almost pleaded.

"Sure." They said shrugging their shoulders. And since they gave me permission to do so, I went around and hugged them all but made sure I gave Pete Wentz two hugs before he had to leave through the studio door. Once they all left, I quickly and clumsily opened the CD that Pete gave me and I saw eight numbers written down with a dash separating them.

"Oh, my, God. Is this, what I think it is?" I asked breathing uneasily as my heart most likely was beating irregularly now.

"If you're asking if that's his number, then yes, it is." Logan said looking at the CD from over my shoulder.

"Or he might've given you a different number." James said bumming my attitude.

"Try it!" Carlos suggested enthusiastically.

"O-Okay?" I said as I grabbed my purse I kept under my arm and dug through to find my phone. I unlocked it and held the CD up so that I could dial the number. It rung twice and then a familiar voice picked up.

"Hello?"

"Pete Wentz?" I asked almost too loudly.

"Yes, wait, Amber Riley?" He asked laughing.

"Y-Yeah hi." I said happily but realizing I stuttered I took two deep breathes and then continued. "I just wanted to know if you actually did just give me your number."

"Talented and funny, you're one awesome girl Amber." Pete said. I suppressed my fan girl screams as best I could and I succeeded. Phew.

"Wow. Okay, I mean, thank you." I sputtered out.

"Okay so I have to head onto the bus and we don't have service on there so I'll have to talk to you later okay?" He said.

"Okay Pete, thanks, for everything." I said calmly.

"Sure thing. Don't forget where you come from and every once in a while if things get out of hand, just step back and rock out a bit." He said. Oh my GOD, Pete Wentz just gave me advice.

"Okay, I'll make sure to do just that." I said laughing and I could tell he was chuckling too. "Bye Pete."

"See you Amber." He said and the line went dead and I almost dropped my phone. I put it back in my purse and turned around to the guys calmly but of course I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

"So he really did give you his number…" Kendall said in amazement.

"How do you feel?" Carlos asked.

"Unbelievably, indescribably, awesome." I replied breathlessly.

"But you just said you felt awesome so technically you're describing how you're feeling." Logan pointed out and I slapped his arm as I playfully glared at him.

"Come on, I think we've had enough excitement for one day. I need to get home."

"Can we all hang out at your place and watch our performances?" James asked.

"Sure." I said happily as I took his arm and looped it with mine.

"Who's up for some fish sticks?" Carlos called out.

"We are!" We all cheered as we all headed out of the studio, met up with Momma Knight and Katie who managed to find a new game to play to entertain herself and we piled into her rental car and went back to the Palm Woods to have a nice relaxing rest of the day.

* * *

><p>WOW THAT WAS LONGG! and did you like Fall Out Boy, if not, go away, just kidding but don't bash then when and I MEAN WHEN (there are no ifs) YOU REVIEW! i really would like to get reviews from more than the twosometimes three lovely people i've gotten to know, and if you have suggestions, i'm willing to hear those too...and so i don't want to review until at least FIVE (count it!) five (maybe three...?) new people review my story who have been reading and find my story good but just don't want to review, you can be anonymous and even if you're not logged in just put down your username and just say something about my story you liked/disliked/loved, not using the word hate, it's too strong of a word..

BUT ANYWHOO, hope you all liked it, and the next chapter should be a fun one so watch out! XD love you all

REVIEWWW..press the button, you know you wanna...

as for other notices you should all be aware about, my good buddy Dana2184 has been working on a whole bunch of BTR stories that i've thankfully have read and have personally become quite fond of them especially her story titled "i'm literally 16 and pregnant" and then she told me a couple of days ago that she was going to post a totally creative, one of a kind, wait for it...JATIE story! and i dnt know about you but i LOVE Jatie stories, theyre fluffy and cute and lovable and her's is definitely wonderful and i cannot WAIT until it's posted so if you like her writing or don't know her i suggest you stalk her for the next few days and while you wait check out her stories because that's what a good person should do.. :)

thanks for reading everything i've said, you guys are great! much love to all you readers out there! and tell your friends about my story, and of dana's stories PLEASE! :D


	12. Big Time Author's Note :

Hi sorry about this, I have been thinking a lot about this story I promise. And I'm very sorry I haven't updated for a while, but that will continue as I'm leaving for a trip for five weeks. So I won't be on, but I promise, when I come back on August 6, I will have ideas and I will be updating I promise you that.

You can hold me to that.

And also for you lovely people out there who have faved, reviewed, followed me, etc. I really appreciate it and I thank you all.

AsdfghjklQwerty

Kouryuu

Xxlilyy

Ukelelegirl

Dana2184

BigTimeKendallLover25

Audrey Wilson

ljean433

ArianamaslowBTR25

If I missed anyone, I'm truly sorry, I'm writing this right before I leave to go to the airport. But to those I have mentioned and to those I have not, thank you so much for reviewing, this is the most attention any of my stories, or really any of my writing pieces, has ever gotten before, and I really appreciate it. I love you all and hope that you'll be patient with me as I am away and don't forget about this story. You're all super lovely 3

Sincerely,

Katie


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